GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Engineers Suleiman al-Lawh, 25, and Tasneem al-Sheikh Khalil, 24, are about to launch an online medical consultation app called Al-Mosheb (The Scientist). The app allows patients to communicate with specialized doctors in the health and psychology fields online in return for a fee.

A pilot app was launched Nov. 1 on Google Play for smartphones, allowing its subscribers in the Gaza Strip to communicate with 120 doctors in the fields of psychological and physical health through text messages, video calls or voice calls, and to attach medical tests or prescriptions.

Lawh, who came up with the idea, told Al-Monitor that the program aims to facilitate communication between patients and doctors through technology, allowing patients to contact any doctor of their choice from the list and get a medical consultation without the need to be present at the clinic or hospital.

“We have contracted 120 doctors from the Palestinian territories, Egypt and India, who have at least 20 years of experience in their field of expertise. Each of them pays our company $20 [per month] to be featured on our list. The doctor then determines the price of his consultations, taking into account that we take [a commission of] 16% per consultation — to which the doctor agrees in advance,” he said.