Amid the severity of the fifth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, a startup nurtured by The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), known as iMeddy, is providing a free video medical consultation service on its pioneering online healthcare platform to a quota of 3,000 COVID-19 patients. The service is supported by an aggregate donation of HK$800,000 from The Y.Elites Association and the Hong Kong Youth Development Alliance, to help fight the pandemic leveraging innovative technology.
The service is being carried out in two phases. The first phase, which is now complete, targeted low-income families, while the upcoming second phase will help the singleton elderly and those living in nursing homes. The initiative aims to provide necessary medical support through video consultation for free to those COVID-19 patients who already have symptoms. This will help share the burden currently faced by the medical system as well as promote the use of innovative technology in the medical field.
An online platform for medical and healthcare services, iMeddy collaborates with more than 300 private medical practitioners in Hong Kong. Users can select a doctor, make an appointment and receive a video medical consultation, all conveniently from home. Medicines will also be sent to the users’ homes by delivery service.
iMeddy’s platform ensures a more efficient and safer consultation system for private medical practitioners. This can reduce the risk of doctors getting infected during face-to-face consultations and treatment as well as the possibility of spreading the virus while patients are making their way to clinics.
iMeddy was founded in 2021 by two PolyU alumni, namely Mr Alex Cheuk Ka-hou (graduate of the Department of Mechanical Engineering in 2019) and Mr Stephen Tsoi Kwok-chun (graduate of the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering in 2018). PolyU is committed to nurturing innovation and technology talents who embrace entrepreneurship to create positive impact on industry and society underpinned by the research excellence of the University.
The entrepreneurial and caring spirit of the two alumni is highly encouraging. The PolyU Launchpad Fund is a scheme to support the acceleration of technology startups founded by PolyU students, alumni and professors. As one of the startups receiving funding from the scheme this year, iMeddy will further increase the efficiency of its online consultation platform and expand its development in the Greater Bay Area.
