Asia Insurance Review, 19 May 2020 — Great Eastern (GE) has strengthened its partnership with HealthTech Doctor Anywhere (DA) to bring online and offline general practitioner (GP) consultations across Singapore to more customers in view of the current COVID-19 pandemic.
Policyholders of GE’s medical insurance plan ‘GREAT SupremeHealth’ will now be able to access online and offline GP services for an S$12 ($8.50) consultation fee which excludes the cost of medication.
In the first quarter of 2020, telemedicine services is said to have risen in popularity among Singaporeans who prefer to seek medical attention through online consultations.
From January to March, there was a 41% increase in total sign-ups to use DA video consultation service and an 89% increase in total calls made among the GE group insurance customers.
DA has been the insurer’s health and wellness service provider for its group insurance customers since August 2019.
Commenting on the new developments, Great Eastern managing director of group operations Patrick Kok said, “With increasing public concerns about visiting GP clinics during the COVID-19 pandemic, we have broadened our insurance coverage beyond hospitalisation.”
DA’s 24/7 video consultation platform allows users to skip long clinic waiting queues to consult a Singapore-licensed doctor anytime and anywhere with medication delivered to their homes within hours.
For easy access, medical history, health reports, and other documents are stored in-app. However for conditions that require a more thorough diagnosis, patients may visit a panel clinic for a physical consultation.
Article originally appeared in Asia Insurance Review on 19 May 2020.
