CitiusTech & DocOnline Expand Digital Healthcare Access in Slums

The initiative aims to reach over 50,000 people by integrating DocOnline’s telemedicine platform with trained community health workers, enabling free, real-time medical consultations in underserved slum areas.

CitiusTech has launched a corporate social responsibility initiative in partnership with DocOnline and NGO SEED to expand access to primary healthcare in urban slums across Hyderabad and Bengaluru.

The programme targets 12 slum communities and is built around a digital health model that combines capacity building, telemedicine, and community outreach to deliver affordable, quality services for underserved households.

A core element of the initiative is a capacity-building training programme for frontline health workers. The partners said 625 frontline health executives have been trained on women’s health, malnutrition, non-communicable diseases, child safety and the use of digital healthcare tools, working in coordination with agencies such as Integrated Child Development Services, Women and Child Development, the Health Commissioner’s office and Child Development Project Officers.

To strengthen last-mile access, the programme is integrating DocOnline’s Telemedicine platform so that trained workers can connect residents in slum communities with certified doctors. Through this channel, patients can receive free, real-time consultations without the travel time, clinic waiting and out-of-pocket costs that typically act as barriers to care for low-income families.

The partners are also focusing on sustainability by training 50 village level entrepreneurs who will act as community health facilitators. These entrepreneurs will support telemedicine adoption, guide residents through consultations and help organise access to medicines and diagnostics while building their own livelihoods around health services in the community.

Beyond teleconsultations, the initiative includes free community health camps offering basic check-ups and preventive screenings, and mental health group sessions that address issues such as self-esteem, depression, anxiety, and the impact of social media. The objective is to promote holistic wellbeing, build resilience and encourage earlier care-seeking behavior in densely populated informal settlements.

DocOnline managing director Manasije Mishra said the collaboration is designed to strengthen primary healthcare delivery for vulnerable communities by combining training, digital access and community engagement with clinical expertise. “Our goal is to build a sustainable, community-led digital health model where frontline workers are empowered with the tools and knowledge they need to deliver timely care,” he said. The partners said the initiative aims to reach more than 50,000 people living in the urban slums of Hyderabad and Bengaluru and is expected to support public health systems by expanding primary care capacity at the community level.

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