Follow-ups are a normal part of the patient journey, but the current 7-day free window cuts them off before people are ready. A 14-day free follow-up tests as near-universally appealing and, more importantly, as a genuine reason to choose Practo over an alternative.
To assess consumer interest in Practo's proposed 14-day free follow-up consultation feature and evaluate its potential to drive adoption, repeat engagement, and platform preference.
| City | Top 6 metros |
| Gender | Male | Female |
| Age band | 18–60 years |
| NCCS | A | B |
| Usership | Any doctor consultation in the last 6 months (min. 70 offline) |
| Practo cohorts | One-time | Repeat | Aware non-trialist (min. 30 each) |
| Sample | Target 100 · Achieved 119 |
The need for follow-ups is high and consistent across cohorts. The leak happens between intending to return and actually returning — and the free-window expiry is one of the two biggest causes.
Follow-ups are a normal expectation, not an exception — virtually nobody says "never".
Stated behaviour tracks need closely — a 2.5pt gap between needing and going. The intent is there; the friction sits elsewhere.
Asked of those who only sometimes / rarely / never return. The barriers are circumstantial and largely fixable by product — window expiry, forgetting, and doctor availability together outweigh "I didn't need it" (7.5%).
Exactly half find it short. Only 9% think it is too generous — so lengthening the window carries almost no perceptual downside.
Average preference lands at 9.8 days. 63% want more than 7 days — and a 14-day offer covers 97% of all stated preferences.
This is the size of the miss. Nearly half report often or always having an unmet two-week follow-up need — the exact window the proposition covers.
| Measure | Overall n=119 | One-time n=30 | Repeat n=52 | Aware non-trialist n=37 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Needs a follow-up (T2B) | 68.9 | 63.3 | 65.4 | 78.4 |
| Actually goes (T2B) | 66.4 | 66.7 | 59.6 | 75.7 |
| Unmet 2-week need (T2B) | 48.7 | 60.0 | 38.5 | 54.1 |
| 7 days is "too short" | 50.4 | 46.7 | 48.1 | 56.8 |
| Preferred window (days) | 9.8 | 8.9 | 10.1 | 10.1 |
Tested as: “If your consultation automatically included a free follow-up within 14 days…” Appeal is close to a ceiling, and — unusually for a free-benefit test — it converts into stated platform preference rather than just goodwill.
Only 2.5% are negative in any degree, and nobody is neutral — the concept is understood and wanted, with no fence-sitters to convince.
The largest single answer is “nothing”. Every remaining barrier is operational — availability, memory, timing, rebooking effort — rather than a rejection of the offer.
Three in five want it booked for them up front. Nobody has “no preference” — this is an active choice, and it directly answers the “I may forget” barrier above.
The commercially important number. Two-thirds say “extremely” — the intensity, not just the reach, is what makes this a differentiator rather than a hygiene feature.
| Measure | Overall n=119 | One-time n=30 | Repeat n=52 | Aware non-trialist n=37 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Very likely to use (Q12) | 84.0 | 80.0 | 92.3 | 75.7 |
| Likely to use, T2B (Q12) | 97.5 | 100.0 | 98.1 | 94.6 |
| “Nothing would stop me” (Q13) | 37.8 | 13.3 | 51.9 | 37.8 |
| Avg. barriers (Q13) | 1.45 | 2.07 | 1.10 | 1.43 |
| Wants auto-scheduling (Q14) | 60.5 | 66.7 | 57.7 | 59.5 |
| Influences platform choice, T2B (Q15) | 88.2 | 83.3 | 92.3 | 86.5 |
A young, affluent, heavily digital metro sample. Read the headline numbers with that in mind: this is the segment most primed to accept a digital-first health benefit, not a national read.
Two-thirds are still physically walking into a clinic. The follow-up promise therefore has to work for offline-originated consultations, not just teleconsults.
Practo has universal awareness in this sample and the highest ever-use — but usage is shallow, and four competitors are used by more than 4 in 10.
| Platform | Aware (Q9a) | Ever used (Q9b) | Conversion |
|---|---|---|---|
| Practo | 100.0 | 68.9 | 69% |
| Apollo 24|7 | 95.8 | 65.6 | 68% |
| MediBuddy | 79.8 | 61.3 | 77% |
| Tata 1mg | 82.4 | 58.8 | 71% |
| Netmeds | 76.5 | 41.2 | 54% |
| MFine | 29.4 | 7.6 | 26% |
| Lybrate | 22.7 | 5.9 | 26% |
| Eka Care | 10.9 | 5.0 | 46% |
| Jio Health Hub | 31.1 | 5.0 | 16% |
Usage is thin: over a third stop at one booking, and the average is 2.68 bookings.
Recruited to a minimum of 30 per cohort so each can be read separately.
Screener context: an average of 9.7 of 12 digital activities each. Friction-free digital booking is an established habit for this sample, so a rebooking flow is not a novel behaviour.