Opus: Innovative solutions in the medical sector

Opus is a company offering web development services, software products and software services. Since its founding in 2010, the company has made a significant contribution to eHealth development activities.

“Opus is a software development enterprise that is primarily focused on three areas – web development projects, mobile application development and software development,” says Andre Lall, the managing director of Opus. He explains that Opus competencies cover the entire life cycle of a successful development project, from the analysis of the business process, strategic consultations, and branding to the maintaining and development of long-term client relations.

Opus’ aim is to take the quality of web development to a whole new level, bringing together leading experienced specialists of their fields into a collective well of experience. Opus works with the latest technologies and develops innovative solutions.

Services and solutions that target healthcare and are used within the health sector represent an estimated 20 – 30% of Opus’s activities.

Innovative solutions

“One of our services is the telemedicine service TeleMed Platform (TMP) that connects doctors with patients. This platform contains video, voice, and chat capabilities offering different possibilities,” Lall says. For example, using the platform you can make a doctor’s appointment, make payments, and participate in real-time video consultations. Consultations can be carried out either anonymously or with authentication of identity. The patient’s identity is checked using two-factor authentication or internet bank link authorisation before allowing access to the patient’s electronic health record (EHR).

A virtual waiting room, which can be managed by the doctor, is also a part of the TeleMed environment. Using this feature, a patient on the waiting list can be informed, for example, that there is a waiting time of 10 minutes.

The TeleMed environment also provides the possibility of using text to communicate in conjunction with real–time video, making it possible for example
to change the names of drugs. During the visit with the doctor, a patient can also share additional files or documents.

“We are offering this solution generally as a white label platform solution. It can be implemented specifically in telemedicine or more broadly in other sectors. Right now we are searching for new partners in the medical sector and similar industries,” Lall says.

At the moment Opus is also introducing advertising management soft­ware. “We are developing a new product for owners of ad space with software making it easier to manage and sell. Traditionally, the process is managed using Excel, but since today there are so many spaces with so many opportunities, Opus has created a web–based CRM–type tool where administration, reservation, and communication processes, plus other processes connected with advertising spaces, can be comfortably managed in one environment. This in turn makes it easier to sell more and helps to manage the spaces more easily, including in connection with internal campaigns. Among our first clients are various pharmacy chains,” Lall explains.

Broad experience in the health sector

“Opus has an online pharmacy product in the health sector. We helped Apotheka to develop an online pharmacy. It is a fully functioning and popular service. Certainly, there are other online pharmacy stores on the market. But under Estonian legislation, where digital prescriptions and the process of how these digital prescription drugs can be purchased online have been established, it is definitely a unique product in this region,” Lall explains.

In addition, Opus has developed many other comprehensive business–to–business and business–to–client solutions and interactive in–store solutions for the leading pharmaceutical wholesaler and retailer in the Baltic states.

Opus has also successfully undertaken web development work in the health sector in collaboration with different enterprises and been an active start–up partner. “One example is the weight management app DietBooster, which they are launching on the American market. We have been connected with different aspects of this project, from the initial analysis to graphic design and technical development. The DietBooster system is now ready, and we will help them iwith the product launch cycle,” says Lall.

Benefits of exporting eHealth solutions to foreign markets

About 30-40% of our services are exported to foreign markets. The main target markets have been Estonia, the United Kingdom and the United States. Opus’ success in the US and UK markets has led to the creation of local sales offices in Seattle and London.

According to Lall, the development of health sector services in Estonia has been relatively challenging: “The size of the Estonian market definitely hampers progressive ideas. Estonia has a very limited market. It can be ideal to test new ideas, however, larger markets should be targeted right from the beginning, otherwise there is a risk of remaining too tied to the specifics of the market here in Estonia.

In Estonia there are a lot of technological possibilities that are lacking elsewhere in the world, though unfortunately, technology cannot easily be transferred between all countries. The fact that you can make some kind of interface with the e-government system here on the local Estonian market does not provide any competitive advantage in foreign markets,” says Lall.

“In order to ensure successful out­come, we have to find a great team that is focused on foreign markets and has reliable partners with whom we can develop and finance the project with.”