Demand for telemedicine, which rose exponentially during the pandemic, will continue to be healthy post- new coronavirus disease 2019, according to Medgate Philippines.
Ronald Estrella, general manager of Medgate, said the company will harness technology in advancing its services as more Filipinos see telemedicine as an option or complement to traditional face-to-face consultation.
Estrella said the company will roll out artificial intelligence (AI) co-developed with IBM Research Zurich that will allow patients to self-triage and help its telemedical assistants to triage patients even more effectively.
The company said the advent of 5G broadband should make for an immersive high resolution video experience that would further enhance the experience of patients.
Advances in wearables, especially those with the ability to capture body temperature, blood pressure, and even blood sugar will usher in a new wave of customers, Medgate said.
The telemedicine provider saw a 170- percent jump in the usage of their services, leading to a total patient base of 1.5 million.
Estrella said Medgate has a telecare rate of 80 percent– eight out of 10 calls are resolved with a medical doctor.
Sharon Maranan, chief distribution officer of Generali Philippines, said the future of healthcare is going to be not just curative, but just also wellness and prevention.
“In the US there’s a healthcare delivery model called value -based care which focuses on wellness and prevention… where doctors and hospitals are paid on the basis of patient health outcomes, and not on the basis of the consultations, procedures and the treatments that they do. It may take a while for that to be accepted in the Philippines, but I think that is going to be the future of healthcare and telemedicine will still play a very, very crucial role,” Maranan said.
Mario Silos, president of Asalus Corp. (Intellicare) said prior to the pandemic, the number of calls from people availing of Medgate was 100 a day. This jumped to up to 300 400 calls a day in 2020 and 500 to 600in 2021.
“Due to the lockdowns and lack of transportation, there had to be changes in the way people behave because they still need health care…the continuing rise of the utilization of (telemedicine), simply shows that because they have experienced it, they no longer just want to repeat it, they’re prepared to pass it on to their family members, “ Silos said. – Irma Isip
