MTS has teamed up with a healthcare provider to launch a new digital medicine solution.
The Russian operator and MEDSI Group have built a platform which will host a range of mobile apps to make it easier to connect with doctors.
The first product to launch will be the SmartMed app, which will allow customers to have consultations via video calls and instant messages.
MEDSI, which is also a subsidiary of MTS parent Sistema Group, said specialists using the app have guaranteed that patients would receive the same quality of treatment through it as they do through clinics.
In the future MTS will explore other possibilities for the platform including introducing early diagnosis and online health monitoring.
It is also working to build an automated data analysis system capable of providing personalised recommendations to individual patients.
Alexey Kornya, CEO of MTS, said: “[We have] launched a telemedicine platform that will serve as a base for the development of additional services in the digital medicine space, a strategically important business area for MTS.
“Research supports our optimistic forecasts that there will be considerable growth in digital medicine in the coming years both in Russia and globally.”
Elena Brusilova, President of MEDSI, added: “The development of telemedicine gives access to quality medical care for a wide range of patients, including those in remote regions, small towns and villages.
“This is a unique product in the digital healthcare space, and the combination of MEDSI’s medical expertise and MTS’s digital experience serves as a great example of the kind of innovative synergies occurring between different companies within the Sistema Group.”
Earlier this week MTS introduced a cloud-based service to help businesses to meet Russian regulatory data storage requirements.
MTS’s VP of Marketing, Vyacheslav Nikolaev, told European Communications in March that the industry needs to move into areas such as IT if it is to grow faster.