EXCLUSIVE- Jordanian telehealth platform Altibbi has launched a dial-a-doc hotline hotline in Egypt, the company said (pdf). The service is aimed at users who do not have access to a smartphone or an internet connection. The company says it is the first in Egypt to allow patients access to offline telehealth services in Egypt.

How it works: Dial the 1130 hotline and ask to be connected to an Egypt-based general practitioner or internal med specialist. Callers are charged EGP 5 per minute against their mobile phone credit or monthly bill. If necessary, doctors can refer patients to a specialist at the end of the consultation. Depending on fluctuations in demand, the number of Egypt-based doctors available to take calls varies from hundreds to thousands, the company told us.

If you’ve ever called a covid hotline, you may already have experience with Altibbi: The company launched two covid-19 hotlines through a PPP with the Supreme Council of Universities in May last year, fielding some 20k calls a day at the height of the pandemic. It is currently the sole operator of the 105 hotline’s “talk to a doctor” option, which helped it book more than 1 mn consultations in Egypt last year. The company hopes to increase this to 2 mn by the midpoint of next year.

Founded in 2011, Altibbi also provides online medical content in Arabic and text- and call-based telehealth services across seven Arab countries.