[App Fridays] JioHealthHub brings lab tests, blood banks, coronavirus test centres at your fingertips

Reliance Jio’s vast ecosystem — rechristened as Jio Platforms — includes a bunch of internet-led services, including telecom, ecommerce, news, entertainment, learning, cloud, communication, health, and more. 

Its health and online diagnostics app JioHealthHub — available for Android and iOS — recently crossed a million downloads on Google Play Store, and continues to gain traction as telemedicine and remote consultations become critical during the pandemic. 

The app, launched in late-2017, was earlier restricted to only Jio subscribers. Users had to log in using their Jio SIM. Reliance opened up JioHealthHub sometime in 2018, with app-based telemedicine catching up.  

It also partnered with startups like iCliniq, Portea Medical, Thyrocare, MedGenome, and others to ramp up its tele-consultation offerings, lab tests, etc.

JioHealthHub, rated 4.2 out of 5 on Google Play Store, is available in English and Hindi. You can change your language preferences anytime after logging in.

After the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, JioHealthHub launched a new feature providing a COVID-19 symptom checker for self-assessment. The app offers a separate sub-section for COVID-19 “info and tools”.

It also includes a list of coronavirus test centres across India, national and world statistics for COVID-19, FAQs, and central and state helpline numbers.

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App features and functionalities

On JioHealthHub, users get access to doctor consultations across 60 specialities from a clutch of partner healthcare providers. 

They can also book lab tests, locate nearest blood banks and pharmacies, access medical reports, create health charts, manage medical bills, prescriptions, and pharmacy orders, and store and share their health data. 

Jio’s partner health providers list various offers and discounts on diagnostic services like thyroid tests, diabetes tests, full-body check-ups, diet management, and exclusive health check-ups. One can also book home tests in India's top eight cities.

JioHealthHub lets users save health records as media files on smartphones. The data is auto-categorised into neatly labelled folders with easily identifiable icons that make scanning through the app a breeze.

Users can also create health profiles by filling up details like age, gender, height, weight, emergency contact number, address, medical insurance policy number, medical histories, allergies, genetic disorders, and so on.

These records and health charts allow users to track their medical progress, spot trends and correlations, and also seek second opinions from doctors.

Users can even upload X-ray, MRI, CT scans, and other reports on to JioHealthHub to generate easily shareable files, which can be sent to doctors during teleconsultations. These consultations can either be text and chat-based or video-based, depending on the booking. 

Additionally, all partner labs, clinics, and hospitals can push out test reports and other updates directly into the app. JioHealthHub also stacks all uncategorised medical data in a central file known as ‘My Health Folder’. 

The app also provides a health content repository, which includes news, articles, and prevention tips on common diseases like diabetes, cancer, heart disorders, asthma, arthritis, and more.

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What stands out in JioHealthHub

One of the most prominent features of JioHealthHub is that it has disabled screenshots on the app.

This is a security feature aimed at preventing reckless sharing and posting of private health data without a patient’s consent. Only users can share their own health files with doctors, friends, and family, who can view the data but not be able to pass it on.

The JioHealthHub app is also PIN-protected. It prompts users to set a four-digit security pin at the time of log in. Additionally, users receive a link for email verification before launching the app.

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Besides these useful elements, the app has a user-friendly interface, a pleasant design aesthetic, and smooth cloud sync features that allow users to retrieve their pre-stored health data across devices and platforms.

Another differentiator is that JioHealthHub allows users to directly connect with Reliance Foundation Hospitals (RFH) doctors. In March, RFH had announced a slew of initiatives to tackle the COVID-19 outbreak in India. 

One of the few downsides of JioHealthHub could be that it currently has only a handful of partner healthcare providers and is operational in just eight cities compared to other e-diagnostic apps.

Surely, Reliance can ramp that up as demand for remote medical consultations soar. 

Overall, JioHealthHub leaves little else to complain about. In times of a once-in-a-century global crisis, this pocket-sized e-health solution is good to have.