Digitalisation of medical services or patients in the online world

21 October 2016

Mobile devices, dedicated mobile applications, teleconsultations and data mining in healthcare: does it sound like distant future? Not at all! Telemedicine is becoming an increasingly popular solution, if not a start of a real revolution in healthcare systems.

In view of a rapid progress in new technologies and the changing expectations of patients, providers of medical services have to upgrade their offers. Therefore, Medicover centres have been successfully implementing new telemedicine solutions for a couple of years. At present, more than 40 percent of appointments are made online and 61 percent of the patients are active users of our online platform. Every third medical consultation is provided over the telephone or Internet and more than 93 percent of patients are satisfied with online interactions.

Today, Medicover patients can consult an internist, paediatrician or a family doctor online using a chat available on the website or a videocall solution. Online prescriptions are also very helpful. Patients can receive prescriptions for regularly used medicines without a need to see the doctor. The same communication channels can be used to discuss the results of tests and examinations online.

For patients who do not use the Internet, Medicover launched a service of telephone consultations. The innovative solutions are implemented with an aim to improve the service quality and patients’ comfort.

Telemedicine services make a significant contribution to a higher quality of healthcare and have become an important factor when choosing medical service providers. Patients sometimes make appointments only to ask additional questions about the dosage of medicines, discuss test results or make sure they understood correctly the recommendations of a specialist. Also pregnant women and young mothers who find it difficult to visit our medical centres often have many questions and uncertainties. In all those cases, a remote contact with a physician or a midwife is a very convenient solution. An online interview also means better preparation for the visit, both of the doctor and the patient. The physician can analyse the patient’s file available in the digital format and the patient comes to the doctor’s office with all necessary test results.

Piotr Soszyński, MD, Medical Director and Board Member of Medicover Poland

Since December, Medicover has also been offering a new, free of charge mobile application with a wide range of functionalities. The application is available in different versions for Android, iOS and Windows.

Medicover is a pioneer on the market of telemedicine services. Our patient, wherever he or she happens to be at the moment, can always contact the doctor by writing an email or using the chat or videocall functionalities. With the new application, patients will not only be able to make or cancel an appointment but also contact directly their attending physician, check the results of medical tests, order a prescription or write Medicover to share with us their feedback or suggestions.

Sonia Kondratowicz, Medicover Customer Service Director

At present, Medicover offers telemedicine consultations via the chat, videocall and telephone channels 7 days a week, also after the office hours of Medicover Centres and on holidays. Over the last four years, more than 300,000 remote consultations were offered.

Being a responsible company, Medicover treats the security of its patients’ data as a top priority, as evidenced by the security certificate of conformance with the ISO 27001 international standard awarded to Medicover.