Telehealth app KonsultaMD said on Wednesday, June 16, that it plans to make it easier to access its services by expanding the ways one can subscribe.

Chief executive officer Cholo Tagaysay said purchasing access to the services will soon be available at physical locations such as gas stations and malls, and “not just baked into gadgets.”

Consumers can also expect the services to be bundled with other offerings and brands, with official announcements and details coming out in the next 30 days.

These moves will allow those who do not use digital payments to avail of the services through more traditional, physical avenues.

Currently, access can be purchased through credit cards, GCash, billed to a Globe postpaid subscription, or through prepaid credits.

Tagaysay also said the 917Ventures-owned app experienced significant growth, with online consultations jumping by 461% in 2020 compared to 2019, and that they are “hiring doctors every day” to try to keep up with the current demand.

The app also experienced a surge in usage when COVID-19 infections jumped in March 2021.

HealthNow, which offers online prescriptions and medicine delivery, has been downloaded 240,000 times since launching in August 2020. The app is also owned by 917Ventures.

917Ventures is Globe Telecom’s startup incubator unit. It is behind companies like Mynt (GCash), business-to-business services RUSH and AdSpark, and grocery delivery service Purego. 

Newer services being funded by 917Ventures include online selling platform Benta TV, lifestyle app Fanlife, and edutech platform Kodigo, an online bootcamp for coding. – Rappler.com