AlTibbi (Arabic: الطبي) is a digital health platform in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Launched by both Jalil Labadi and his father, Dr. Abdel Aziz Labadi, in 2008 in Amman, Jordan. The platform aims to present reliable, up-to-date and simplified medical information to users in the region in Arabic, according to their proclaimed mission. Today, the website features medical articles, a medical glossary, a section that is dedicated to questions and answers, the latest news in medicine, telehealth services and consultations. AlTibbi has also partnered with Mawdoo3, a leading online Arabic content provider, to provide content to the audience in the region.
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Type of site | Internet Medical Content Publisher |
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Available in | Arabic |
Headquarters | Amman, Jordan |
Owner | Jalil Labadi |
URL | altibbi |
Commercial | Yes |
Launched | 2008 |
Current status | Active |
History
editFounded
editAlTibbi was launched in 2011 by Jalil Allabadi from Amman, the capital of Jordan. Its goal was to meet the needs of Arabic users in accessing accurate medical information from trusted sources. Jalil Allabadi developed the idea of an Arabic medical dictionary,[1] which was originally created by his father, Dr. Abdulaziz Allabadi, in 2004 after returning from Germany and recognizing the Arab public's need for such information in their native language.[2]
Collaborations and Partnerships
editAl-Tibbi collaborated with the Egyptian Ministry of Health and the Egyptian Ministry of Communications and Information Technology to provide 24/7 electronic medical consultations in Egypt.[3] Al-Tibbi also conducted a global campaign in collaboration with the United Nations Development Program in Egypt and the Egyptian Telecommunications Company.[4] This campaign aimed to provide healthcare consultations to patients, particularly those living in remote areas with limited access to proper healthcare.[3] Al-Tibbi also partnered with the Royal Health Awareness Society to offer a specialized package for individuals with chronic diseases, aiming to provide appropriate care and advice to improve treatment outcomes.[5]
Al-Tibbi collaborated with various companies to provide medical consultations. An agreement was made between Al-Tibbi and Reckitt, a multinational company that owns brands such as Durex, Gaviscon, and Strepsils, to raise awareness about health-related issues. For example, through this partnership, Durex was able to respond to all sexual health-related medical consultations from Saudi Arabia and Egypt on the Al-Tebi platform.[5]
In Libya, Al-Tibbi collaborated with Libyana Mobile Phone Company to provide health advice and medical information to its users, offering thousands of medical consultations daily.[6]
Funding and Investments
edit- 2011: Al-Tibbi was initially self-funded by the founder and through financing from friends and relatives.
- 2015: Al-Tibbi received its first investments from Middle East Venture Partners (MEVP) and Dash Ventures, which were dedicated to increasing interaction between doctors and patients and expanding the user base in five Arab countries: Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Jordan, and Lebanon.[7]
- 2017: Al-Tibbi secured a new funding round of $6.5 million from Middle East Venture Partners, Dash Ventures, TAMM, RIMCO Investments, Endeavor's Catalyst Fund, and other investors. This investment will be utilized to develop comprehensive healthcare solutions, penetrate new markets, and enrich the medical content on the platform.[8]
Background
editUpon his return from Germany in 2004, Dr. Abdel Aziz Labadi[9] launched the “Medical Glossary” in Arabic, creating a medical reference for Arabic-speakers. In 2008, Jalil Labadi sought to build on his father's glossary, and create a more comprehensive platform, targeting all Arabic-speakers in the MENA region who were, according to his observations, in need of reliable information in their mother-tongue.[10]
- In 2010, the medical glossary was further developed and turned into a multi-service medical website, with the aim of reaching as many users as possible.[citation needed]
- In 2012, the website received text questions from patients and provided answers from specialized doctors for free.[citation needed]
- In 2016, remote consultation services were activated, and users could, for the first time, contact doctors at any place and time via the internet or telephone.[citation needed]
- In 2019, the platform enabled doctors to activate the e-clinic, a patient management system where they could manage patients’ files, appointments, bookings, and electronic health records online and launched services globally.[11]
Funding
editWhen it was first launched in 2008, the founders relied on self-funding, and the financial support of friends and relatives.[citation needed] The website received its first investment in 2015 from Middle East Venture Partners and DASH ventures.[citation needed]
With this investment, Altibbi was able to enhance interaction between doctors and users, and draw a larger number of doctors and users from five Arab countries: Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, Jordan, and Lebanon.[12]
In 2018, Altibbi received a new round of funding, with a total of US$6.5 million from Middle East Venture Partners, DASH Ventures, TAMM, RIMCO Investments, Endeavor's Catalyst Fund, and other investors. This investment is expected to help the platform further develop its integrated health solutions, access new markets and enrich medical content in Arabic.[13]
In March 2023, Altibbi raised $44 million in funding, to drive its growth in Saudi Arabia and Egypt.[14]
Services
editIn early 2021, the "Al-Tibbi" application was launched to provide easy and convenient medical consultations. The application also introduced the "+Connect" feature to facilitate communication between doctors and patients seeking medical advice.[15] Tebi Clinic also includes an artificial intelligence feature that enables the app to transcribe audio recommendations, allowing doctors to provide medical notes automatically instead of typing them within the application.[16]
Additionally, the AI-powered Tebi Clinic app includes a feature for reading vital signs from the mobile phone camera during medical consultations. The app can read heart rate, respiratory rate, blood pressure, oxygen saturation, and stress levels through light reflections on the patient's skin.[15]
Furthermore, the Tebi website launched the "Tebi Mama" application, the first of its kind in the Arab world, which focuses on providing health information and advice to pregnant women, mothers, and fathers regarding prenatal and postnatal care.[16]
In collaboration with Primary Care International, Tebi also launched the "Tebi Academy" as a training platform for doctors to enhance their medical knowledge.[17]
On the other hand, several research papers authored by the Tebi team were published, addressing the benefits of artificial intelligence in assisting doctors in making appropriate medical decisions based on the patient's condition.[18] The research team at Tebi conducted a study on the possibility of automatically evaluating the medical advice provided on the website using the available information.[19]
Statistics
editAltibbi brings together more than 12 thousand accredited medical doctors from all specializations and different Arab countries. [citation needed] Users can get a remote medical diagnosis (if possible) from providers who facilitate the provision of healthcare services for users around the clock.[citation needed]
In 2017, more than 50 thousand users were registered for phone consultation service with medical doctors. In addition, more than 10 million people visited the website on a monthly basis.[20]
Awards
editIn recognition of its efforts as one of the leading creators of medical content in Arabic, Altibbi was awarded the first prize in health category by the Arab E-Content Award in Bahrain in 2013.[citation needed]
The award, which falls under the United Nations’ World Global Summit (WGS), reportedly came after presenting high-quality digital content in Arabic for years.[21][22]
Similar sites
editReferences
edit- ^ "عن الطبي" [About Altibbi]. الطبي (in Arabic). Retrieved 2023-07-10.
- ^ Usman, Muhammad Riaz. "Altibbi: Just what the doctor ordered". Khaleej Times. Retrieved 2023-07-10.
- ^ a b "1 million Egyptians to get free medical consultations via Altibbi". EgyptToday. 2019-02-11. Retrieved 2023-07-10.
- ^ "UNDP joins Telecom Egypt's '1 Million Free Consultations' for Egyptians in cooperation with Altibbi | United Nations Development Programme". UNDP. Retrieved 2023-07-10.
- ^ a b "الخدمات الإلكترونية". شركة صندوق المرأة للتمويل الأصغر (in Arabic). Retrieved 2023-07-10.
- ^ "موقع الطبي | الطبي متوفر الآن لجميع مشتركي ليبيانا! استشر طبيباً بخصوصية تامة عن طريق الرسائل النصية.. حمّل التطبيق : واشترك اليوم من خلال إرسال الرقم". موقع نبض. Retrieved 2023-07-10.
- ^ "'الطبّي' يعلن عن جولة تمويلية جديدة - ومضة". Wamda (in Arabic). Retrieved 2023-07-10.
- ^ "تمويل بقيمة 6.5 ملايين دولار لـ 'الطبي' في جولتها الثانية - ومضة". Wamda (in Arabic). Retrieved 2023-07-10.
- ^ Usman, Muhammad Riaz. "Altibbi: Just what the doctor ordered". Khaleej Times. Retrieved 2019-07-01.
- ^ "أردن الريادة والابداع - جليل عبدالعزيز اللبدي". أردن الريادة والإبداع (in Arabic). 2017-05-14. Archived from the original on 2017-05-19. Retrieved 2019-07-01.
- ^ Altibbi.com. "عن الطبي". الطبي (in Arabic). Retrieved 2019-07-01.
- ^ "'الطبّي' يعلن عن جولة تمويلية جديدة". Wamda (in Arabic). Retrieved 2019-07-01.
- ^ "تمويل بقيمة 6.5 ملايين دولار لـ 'الطبي' في جولتها الثانية". Wamda (in Arabic). Retrieved 2019-07-01.
- ^ "AI-based health platform Altibbi raises $44m to drive growth in Saudi Arabia and Egypt". Arab News. 2022-03-29. Retrieved 2023-06-06.
- ^ a b Altibbi.com. "الطبي يطلق خاصية قياس العلامات الحيوية من خلال الهاتف الذكي". الطبي (in Arabic). Retrieved 2023-07-10.
- ^ a b "Altibbi Mama is the First Arabic Medical App for Pregnant Women". CairoScene. Retrieved 2023-07-10.
- ^ "Strengthening virtual primary care across the Middle East: our new partnership with Altibbi". Primary Care International. 2021-06-01. Retrieved 2023-07-10.
- ^ Faris, Hossam; Habib, Maria; Faris, Mohammad; Elayan, Haya; Alomari, Alaa (2021-01-01). "An intelligent multimodal medical diagnosis system based on patients' medical questions and structured symptoms for telemedicine". Informatics in Medicine Unlocked. 23: 100513. doi:10.1016/j.imu.2021.100513. ISSN 2352-9148. S2CID 234134759.
- ^ Habib, Maria; Faris, Mohammad; Qaddoura, Raneem; Alomari, Manal; Alomari, Alaa; Faris, Hossam (January 2021). "Toward an Automatic Quality Assessment of Voice-Based Telemedicine Consultations: A Deep Learning Approach". Sensors. 21 (9): 3279. doi:10.3390/s21093279. ISSN 1424-8220. PMC 8126050. PMID 34068602.
- ^ Leon, Pamella de (2017-10-03). "HealthTech Startup Altibbi Raises US$6.5 Million From DASH Ventures, MEVP And Others". Entrepreneur. Retrieved 2019-07-01.
- ^ "موقع طبي أردني يفوز بالجائزة العربية للمحتوى الالكتروني". جريدة الدستور الاردنية (in Arabic). Retrieved 2019-07-01.
- ^ "Altibbi | WSA". 2019-04-11. Archived from the original on 2019-04-11. Retrieved 2019-07-01.
- ^ mouaz, mohamed (2023-01-25). "موقع ويب طب webteb". خوارزميات (in Arabic). Retrieved 2023-07-10.