And South Africa is not exempted from these disruption.
The South African health system is affected by the lack of PPEs, increased mortality rates, diversion of health workforce, unavailability of medical supplies and reduced health-seeking behaviour.
As the country faces more lockdown restrictions as covid-19 cases spike, afraid in the capacity of the health system to safely meet essential needs and to control infection risks, people have been hesitant to seek medical help in their healthcare facilities. Discovery Health Medical Scheme, a shared value insurance company, realized this problem that the South Africans are facing and offers a newly made health insurance plans that its benefit includes connecting the doctors and the patient virtually.
When I stated that Discovery made it happen to connect the doctor and patient remotely, you might think that it is easy to do so or like, yeah it is not that new or special. Well, you are probably right. Telemedicine or check-ups over the phone can be done but if you have never heard of receiving accurate diagnosis even if you haven’t visited the hospital to run tests, then this might be the “new” for you.
Discovery introduces its one of their 2021 project, “Connected Care.” Connected Care is a standalone progressive web application (PWA) meant for all private healthcare consumers. This just means that you can access Connected Care through any device that can run a web browser. Connected Care at home is a fully digital and seamless experience, where you will be able to book a remotely guided consultation with a doctor, receive an accurate diagnosis and medicine script, then order and track delivery of medicine, all from the comfort of your home.
For the first time in South Africa, Discovery Health is giving access to a remotely-guided doctor visit, by integrating TytoHome, a lightweight and portable medical exam kit, to the member’s virtual consultation.
With TytoHome, a doctor can examine your heart, lungs, throat, ears, skin, abdomen, heart rate, body temperature, and diagnose then treat many of the most common conditions, such as:
The doctor can also use TytoHome to monitor your chronic conditions and to monitor your health after surgery or a procedure.
As a qualifying member of Discovery Health Medical Scheme for using acute care at home, you will also be covered for a home-based care if you will be at a risk of readmission after getting hospitalized. On top of that, you are also covered for a home-based acute care instead of being admitted to hospital. Discovery will provide you supportive care at home that includes physical nurse visits for the duration of the treatment, virtual consults with a doctor and will give you an access to any other clinically appropriate at-home treatment required, as prescribed by your treating doctor.
Included in this medical aid plan 2021 is the enhancement for the support for your mental well-being. As the coronavirus pandemic rapidly sweeps across the world, it is inducing fear, worry, stress and anxiety to us people. To respond to this and to somehow help its community with regards to mental health, Discovery created Relapse Prevention Programme. The programme will provide clinical support and benefits if you are at risk of a recurrence of a major depressive episode. Members can also access enhanced benefits to manage the transition from in-hospital to out-of-hospital care for major depression, including additional mental healthcare services for an extended period.
Have you liked any benefit from Discovery medical plan 2021? Let Discovery care you and help you get your body back. Choose from 23 health plan options designed to suit your individual health needs. You can also get a quote in just 60 seconds!
