Mauritius: Dr. Shekhar Ramjutun - 'In Digital Healthcare, Trust Is Everything'

What if visiting a doctor were as simple as walking into your local pharmacy? That was the vision Dr. Shekhar Ramjutun had when he co-founded Doc2Us, turning it into a platform that connects 1,700 pharmacies to virtual doctors across Malaysia. A former commercial pilot turned tech CEO, he argues that digital healthcare is not about replacing traditional medicine - but about making it work harder for patients who cannot afford to lose half a day in traffic for a routine prescription.

Tell us about your academic and professional journey.

My journey has never followed a single runway. I pursued medicine as my first calling, completing my undergraduate training before specializing in aviation and aerospace medicine - a field that allowed me to merge my scientific interests with my lifelong fascination with flight. My clinical attachments in Singapore and Malaysia broadened my worldview and sharpened my clinical judgment and systems thinking. Then life presented an unexpected opportunity - a scholarship to flying school. I took it. I qualified as a commercial pilot, later became a flight instructor, and was seconded to instruct for a local Malaysian airline. Aviation taught me precision, responsibility, humility, and leadership under pressure - lessons that would shape everything that followed.

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Doc2Us became a defining chapter in my life. As Chief Operating Officer and later Chief Executive Officer of one of Malaysia's largest telemedicine platforms, I had the privilege of helping shape accessible healthcare at scale. At the heart of it all, my career reflects one theme: an unwavering willingness to evolve - from clinic to cockpit to boardroom - always driven by service, impact, and growth.

What was the trigger behind co-founding Doc2Us?

Doc2Us did not begin as a business idea. It began as a son trying to help his father. The original spark came from my friend Raymond. When his father was diagnosed with a serious illness, he found himself navigating a fragmented system - medical records scattered, information hard to share, and care coordination needlessly complex. The question he asked was simple but profound: why isn't there a proper platform to securely share medical data and make care more seamless? That question became the seed. What started as a personal mission grew into something far greater. From that initial spark, Doc2Us evolved into one of Malaysia's largest telemedicine platforms and the country's largest electronic prescription provider. For me, it was never just about scaling a company. It was about preserving the spirit of that original intention - compassion, accessibility, and dignity in healthcare.

What was your vision for healthcare in Malaysia?

Malaysia is widely recognized for having one of the strongest healthcare systems in the region. Our work was never about "fixing" a broken system. The core idea was to expand access to primary healthcare, streamline medication dispensing, and meaningfully reduce costs for everyday patients. Through the platform, we unified consultations, prescriptions, pharmacies, and data flow. In certain primary care settings, we saw healthcare costs decrease by up to 40%. We were not solving a catastrophic systemic failure. We were optimizing a strong system to make it work better for the end user.

Why choose a digital platform and e-prescription model?

Nearly everyone carries a smartphone with internet access. It is the most democratic access point in modern society. If you want to broaden access to basic healthcare, you meet people where they already are - on their phones. Technology was not the objective; it was the enabler. Electronic prescriptions were more complex. They required rigorous standard operating procedures, compliance safeguards, and close collaboration with pharmacists. We were not bypassing the system. We were working within it - leveraging technology within a secure and regulated framework.

How does the Doc2Us user journey work in practice?

We built three primary pathways. The first is through our nationwide partner pharmacy network: anyone can walk into a participating pharmacy and be connected with a virtual doctor at no cost. The second operates through integration with insurers and third-party administrators - consultations are online, medication is delivered to the patient's home, and transactions are entirely cashless. The third involves direct partnerships with corporate organizations, providing employees with streamlined access to virtual primary care. Together, these channels create a multi-entry ecosystem - community-based, insurance-integrated, and corporate-embedded.

How large did the network grow, and what were the main challenges?

By the time I stepped away, our network had grown to about 1,700 partner pharmacies nationwide. We were processing nearly 100,000 electronic prescriptions per month. The Malaysian government was progressive and collaborative - regulatory sandboxes were established to enable structured trials and responsible implementation. Despite the scale, the top priority was always medication and dispensing safety. In digital healthcare, trust is everything. The strength of the organization was never just the platform; it was the people behind it who ensured that scale never came at the expense of standards.

What are the most common barriers to accessing medication?

If you've experienced weekday peak-hour traffic in Kuala Lumpur, you immediately understand the problem. Time. A short journey can easily turn into a 60-90-minute commute. Taking half a day off work for a simple consultation becomes inefficient, costly, and disruptive. Cost was the second pillar we monitored closely. Accessibility is incomplete if it is not affordable. When you combine time savings, cost optimization, and streamlined dispensing, the value proposition becomes clear: modern healthcare should respect both a patient's health and their time.

How did you ensure medical quality and safety?

Clinical competence in a virtual environment was non-negotiable. Both the Chief Medical Officer and I completed digital health training at Harvard. We systematically cascaded that training to our practicing physicians. We also embedded red-flag mechanisms in the system - automated triggers that alert us to irregular prescribing behaviors or consultation anomalies. Our regulatory framework requires physical consultation for certain conditions, and our doctors are trained to recognize when escalation is necessary. Digital primary care works best when it understands its boundaries.

Who benefits most from Doc2Us?

Particularly for patients living with chronic diseases who require long-term medication, healthcare is continuous. By streamlining consultations and facilitating structured electronic prescriptions, we reduced friction in their ongoing care journey. This is where digital healthcare makes the most practical sense - not replacing complex in-person medicine, but supporting longterm, structured primary care management.

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If a model like Doc2Us were deployed in Mauritius, what opportunities and challenges do you foresee?

One of the primary systemic benefits of structured digital primary care is the reduction of the burden on hospitals. There have been growing discussions about the strain on the healthcare workforce in Mauritius. If that concern is valid, this may be precisely the moment to consider how technology can responsibly ease both operational burdens and cost pressures. Digital health is not a replacement for traditional medicine. It is a force multiplier.

If a structured, regulated model could function at scale in Malaysia - a country with roughly 25 times Mauritius's population - it is reasonable to be optimistic about its adaptability to a smaller, more contained healthcare environment. Implementation could proceed in controlled stages - rolling out carefully, monitoring for issues, strengthening regulatory guardrails, and refining protocols before scaling further.

I believe the opportunity exists. With the right leadership, structured oversight, and collaboration with healthcare professionals, technology could meaningfully improve accessibility, reduce cost pressures, and ease strain on the Mauritian healthcare system. It is not a question of whether it is possible, but whether there is a collective will to explore it responsibly.