Don’t own the ecosystem. Connect it.
FromOwning the whole journey→ToProviding the infrastructure it runs on
If the network doesn’t own the doctors, clinics, labs, pharmacies or hospitals, everyone, including the network, still has to sustain themselves. Each participant is paid for what it provides, and the network earns for the infrastructure, never for sending patients anywhere.
Every participant is paid for what they provide
A patient walks into a neighbourhood Point of Care and pays a small fee, say ₹99 illustrative, for a proper examination.
The Point of Care earns for its work. The patient chooses a public doctor or a private GP, and the doctor earns their consultation fee. A test is needed, and the lab earns for the test. Medicine is collected, and the pharmacy earns for dispensing it.
Every participant is paid for what they provide. And the network that connected them earns for making it all work.
Two consultation pathways
- Point of Care
- examination
- doctor
- consultation
- diagnostics
- specialist
- hospital
- pharmacy
- follow-up
Public. Patients who qualify for or choose public care connect to available public doctors and services. The government’s eSanjeevani service already runs a public teleconsultation pathway at national scale[1].
Private. Patients who prefer can choose a private GP or specialist at their fee.
The network doesn’t force one model. It creates choice. Tests, specialists, hospitals, medicine and follow-up are each provided, and paid for, by the provider who delivers them. Young doctors grow through learning, clinical exposure, capability, identity, patient access and opportunity. Experienced doctors earn through consultations, specialist care, teaching, case contributions, CME and mentorship.
What the network provides, and how it sustains itself
| The network provides | The question it answers |
|---|---|
| Identity | Who is the patient, the doctor, the provider? |
| Clinical information | What has happened to this patient? |
| Discovery | Who can provide the service needed? |
| Connectivity | How do participants interact? |
| Referral | How does the patient move to the next level of care? |
| Transactions | How are services booked and paid for? |
| Knowledge | How does learning flow through the system? |
| Professional development | How does capability become visible? |
| Follow-up | How does care continue? |
The network earns for the infrastructure it provides, never for sending patients anywhere:
- Point of Care setup and support: equipment, training, certification, quality assurance and software for participating locations.
- The clinical workspace: a subscription for doctors and clinics.
- Learning and knowledge: case-based learning and CME programmes, designed with accrediting bodies.
- Platform services: flat, transparent fees for booking, payments and coordination, the same wherever a patient is sent.
- Public programmes: service contracts with government and health programmes that use the network.
Go deeper
Why the network never earns from referrals
The Medical Council’s 2002 regulations bar a physician from giving, soliciting or receiving any gift, gratuity, commission or bonus for referring, recommending or procuring a patient, and from splitting or rebating any fee. The same applies to referring a person or specimen for diagnostic work[2]. So the network never earns more when a patient is sent to a particular lab, specialist or hospital. Every referral is based only on clinical need, which is also what makes the network trustworthy.
Scope. The regulations address physicians. Whether a platform’s fee model could still be read as inducing referrals is a legal question for the pilot to settle.
The final flywheel
More Points of Care mean more accessible examinations, more consultations and more clinical cases. More cases bring more learning, more capable doctors and richer professional identities, which bring more opportunities, more providers joining and more patient choice. More connected care brings more patients, and more Points of Care.
Every consultation becomes more than a consultation: a healthcare interaction, a learning moment, a source of knowledge, a step in a doctor’s growth, and a connection in a larger network.
Getting it right
Clinical need decides every referral. No commissions, no incentives, no exceptions.
Fair prices, clearly shown. Patients see what each service costs before they choose it.
Public and private, side by side. Patients who rely on public care get the same connected journey.
Independence protected. No provider has to give up its identity or its patients to join.
What could go wrong
- A fee too small to sustain a location.If a Point of Care can’t earn enough, the physical layer fails, so the pilot tests real fees.
- A fee patients won’t pay.People used to free or low-cost care may not value the examination, so willingness to pay is measured.
- Revenue that drifts towards referrals.Any income linked to where patients are sent breaks the principle, so fees are flat and published.
- Public pathways left behind.If the connected journey works only for those who can pay, it has failed its purpose.
How we’d test it
The pilot’s economics run in one town, with real fees at the Point of Care, real consultation pathways and real platform charges.
- The test
- The economics
- What we would measure
- Answer four questions: can a Point of Care earn enough to sustain itself, do patients value the examination enough to pay for it, do doctors find the workspace worth its cost, and can the network cover its costs without ever touching referral income. Expand town by town once the numbers hold.
- What would end the idea
- A Point of Care can’t sustain itself, or the network can cover its costs only by earning from referrals.
Sources
- [1]All India Radio News, eSanjeevani achieves milestone of 50 crore teleconsultations from across the country (6 October 2026)Checked; a public broadcaster’s report
- [2]Medical Council of India, Indian Medical Council (Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics) Regulations, 2002, clauses 6.4.1 and 6.4.2Checked; a copy of the Regulations hosted by the Delhi Medical Council
Spotted a source we missed or a rule we misread? Tell us what we got wrong.
Don’t just put the doctor online. Build the open network healthcare can run on.