Common Health Inc., an American startup company working in Southeast Asia, announced today the launch of a new e-commerce platform dedicated to the region’s 151 million people with diabetes and hypertension.
The service makes quality medicines more accessible and affordable, and provides advice and support to help customers live longer, healthier lives. Common Health is now available in Myanmar and can be accessed through www.commonhealth.com.mm, Facebook, Viber, and a telephone hotline.
Chronic diseases are a serious challenge in the region, where 99 million people are diabetic or pre-diabetic and 116 million people have hypertension, including many with both conditions.
Due to the high costs for care and the complexities of living with these diseases, most people struggle to maintain their treatment.
For example, only 12% of people in Southeast Asia with hypertension have their condition under control.
Common Health addresses this by making products and services for people with chronic diseases more affordable, accessible, and convenient, starting with essential medications. Every customer using the company’s platform has access to:
- Low prices that deliver savings on every order, made possible by relationships with pharmacies, distributors, and manufacturers,
- Convenient home delivery by a dedicated team trained on the safe handling of health products, including “cold-chain” items,
- A wide range of medications for diabetes, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia, including Myanmar’s largest selection of oral diabetes drugs and insulins,
- A world-class quality guarantee ensuring that products are authentic, legally imported, and in excellent condition, and
- Free telemedicine support, including a family medicine doctor matched to each household and a 24-hour on-call service for urgent issues.
The company has piloted its chronic disease e-commerce platform in the cities of Yangon and Bago, and the response from customers like Daw Cho Cho Thein has been enthusiastic.
Thein, who cares for two parents with type 2 diabetes said,
“We save 25,000 kyats [~US$ 12] per family member on medication costs by ordering through Common Health. We do not need to worry about the expiration date on the medicines. And whenever we have questions, we call our family medicine doctor.”
Common Health was founded in 2019 by Matthew Guilford, who previously scaled telemedicine and health insurance to five million people in Bangladesh. The company began operations in Myanmar in 2021, supporting primary care, medicine delivery, and hospital access for 31,000 children and pregnant women.
In less than two years, Common Health’s platform has been used to provide more than 140,000 telemedicine consultations and to deliver more than 17,000 medication orders.
Common Health founder Matthew Guilford said,
“We are excited to launch this service as a first step in helping families across Southeast Asia save money and achieve better health outcomes.
We look forward to incorporating new offerings like diagnostics and insurance to make Common Health the first port of call for people with diabetes, hypertension, and other chronic health needs.”
About Common Health
Common Health, Inc. is revolutionizing healthcare for families in Southeast Asia, providing adequate care for chronic diseases, pregnancy and early childhood needs. This company was founded in the United States in 2019 and launched its operations in Myanmar the following year.
Common Health is dedicated to improving primary care access and making essential medications more available to families with children who require them – allowing parents and guardians to give their youngsters the level of attention they need without breaking the bank.
But Common Health’s enthusiasm doesn’t end there – they are now aiming their efforts at helping those affected by diabetes and hypertension in Southeast Asia, a staggering 151 million people in total, by utilizing their pioneering new e-commerce platform.
Common Health enables those living with chronic conditions better manage their health whilst saving money; thus giving individuals more control over what they are able to purchase while adhering to tight budgets.
Sources: THX News & Common Health.
