Irish-based healthcare search engine WhatClinic.com has expanded into the local healthcare scene.
According to Caelen King, founder of WhatClinic, the expansion into the country is to meet the growing demand from local and international consumers for information about clinics in SA.
King explains people visit the site to locate, compare and book treatments across a wide range of elective, self-pay medical treatments. He says the site also gives medical practitioners and private clinic owners the opportunity to find new patients locally and abroad.
The healthcare search engine already has over 500 clinics around SA listed on the site, with a focus on cosmetic dental procedures, plastic surgery and medical aesthetics, he reveals.
King says the search engine plans to double the number of clinics listed in SA over the next three months, and explains clinics can add their own business details to the site at no charge. "We also have a dedicated team of content specialists who gather business information and create listings, and a customer success team that helps clinics optimise their listings, add treatments and generally improve their online visibility."
The site gives patients access to all the information they need to make an informed choice about where to get treatment, including information on price, availability and independent reviews, says King.
According to King, ZocDoc is one example of a competitor in the US, helping people find and book doctors. "We are a ZodDoc for the world, and we have more than doctors and dentists, we include physio, chiro, fertility, plastic surgery, medical aesthetic, holistic, optical, dental and much more.
"As we expand into geographic locations, we strive to provide as much choice as possible for patients," he says. "In the UK, the site has blanket coverage for almost all verticals, and the longer we operate in a country, the more clinics are added to the site ? providing greater choice across rural and urban areas."
There are extensive mapping features on the site, and nearby clinic locations can be found through the use of maps, he adds.
Early this year, WhatClinic launched a mobile site offering a user-friendly experience on mobile devices, notes King.
He believes availability is a key feature for clinics who use the site. "We provide a dashboard that helps clinics publish their availability online. We also offer clinics a free Facebook widget that lets them take bookings through Facebook or even on their own Web sites," he concludes.
The company has operations in Brazil, Mexico and Poland, with users from over 122 countries worldwide.
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