Yulia Galanicheva, Managing Director for Voluntary Health Insurance at Renaissance Insurance, told Trends about how the digital path of treatment is becoming a new reality
— How did the system of voluntary medical insurance look like before and what were its shortcomings?
— Five to ten years ago, the system of voluntary medical insurance (VMI) looked like this: an HR specialist of the company asked to calculate how much VMI would cost for a certain number of employees. Such a program included a list of medical institutions, the amount of coverage and bonus options. An employee who needed medical assistance chose a clinic himself and visited the necessary doctors, or contacted the medical console (information service. — Trends) an insurance company to coordinate services and make an appointment with the clinic.
At the same time, difficulties often arose for the client himself, since it is not clear which clinic has good specialists with the necessary qualifications, how to get a second opinion of a specialist, and in general it is often not clear whether you have recovered or not. For example, a person went to one clinic and consulted with several doctors, but they could not help him there. Then he went to another – but there was no result. Some people delay the treatment process because they do not have time to go to the doctors. Some may quit treatment halfway through as they feel better, but overall the problem remains unresolved and threatens to have complications in the future. In some regions, there are simply no specialists of the required profile, and the client does not receive the necessary medical care.
How did DMS start to change and why?
— Approximately five years ago, active digitalization began in Russian medicine. Clients got the opportunity to consult with a doctor online before visiting the clinic, or after, for example, to decipher the results of tests or to obtain a second medical opinion.
The insurance companies have included the possibilities of telemedicine in the VHI program as an additional free option. But at that time it did not receive wide distribution: no more than 1% of the total number of the team applied for an online consultation. There were many reasons: patients did not trust telemedicine, after which they still needed to go to the clinic. At the same time, the conclusions of the doctors did not agree with each other.
The main changes took place in 2020 when the covid pandemic began. Online communication with a doctor has become a common practice. Many medical institutions have retrained as hospitals for the treatment of covid and for some time did not accept patients with other diseases. For some people, online appointments have become the only way to quickly consult a doctor, so insurance companies have begun to include telemedicine services in all VHI programs.
In addition, the program has expanded. For example, at the beginning of the pandemic, covid treatment was not covered by VHI. But insurance companies have seen that even after recovery, people still suffer from the consequences of the disease for a long time, so VHI has introduced rehabilitation programs after the virus. “Health Days” have become popular, with companies requesting events to promote disease prevention and healthy lifestyles. This helped the team to survive a difficult period.
We saw these trends and realized that it is necessary to strengthen the role of the insurance company for customers. We must not just provide services, but accompany a person throughout the entire journey from the first contact to full recovery, helping at every stage of receiving medical care. This is how we got the Digital Clinic product.
— What is the Digital Clinic and how does it work?
– “Digital Clinic” is a service that combines online and offline formats of interaction with a doctor. The peculiarity is that we, as an insurance company, accompany the employee at all stages of diagnosis and treatment. This is done by a personal medical assistant – an employee who selects doctors for the client and writes him down for examinations.
— How does the service work?
The company enters into an agreement with us for VMI services for its employees, after which they get access to the mobile application. When a person needs help, he chats with a medical assistant. He organizes an online consultation with a doctor, who subsequently leads the client from the first telemedicine appointment, draws up a personal treatment plan and accompanies him until complete recovery. After the initial consultation, the assistant selects the necessary institution and doctors, writes the client down for tests and examinations. When choosing a clinic, it is taken into account how close it is to the employee’s home or place of work, at what time the necessary specialists are seen so that the client is comfortable.
In addition to specialists in clinics, the client can also consult in a mobile application with the doctor with whom he had his first online appointment, for example, to ask for clarification of the results of tests. When the patient is fully cured, we complete the follow-up of this case.
— What are the advantages of the Digital Clinic?
— Our service helps to simultaneously solve the needs of employees of companies and their employers.
The Digital Clinic helps employees to quickly diagnose and receive the necessary treatment. You do not have to choose a clinic yourself, call the reception several times and wait until the right specialist has a window for an appointment. You can save time on the initial appointment – consult online and immediately get a referral to a specialist.
Sometimes the path of treatment ends with an online consultation. For example, a client has no complaints about his health, you only need to decipher the tests. The doctor will explain the values of the indicators, tell which of them are below or above the norm and whether it needs to be corrected. An employee does not have to spend two or three hours traveling to and from the clinic, or sit in line for a 10-minute conversation with a doctor.
Employers save the budget on insurance for their employees, while clients receive quality medical care.
How will your product develop in the future?
We already provide the “Digital Clinic” in the classic VHI, which is used by our clients. The client has a choice. He can plan his treatment with the help of an online assistant who will direct him, if necessary, for diagnosis and treatment in a suitable clinic. Or the client can receive medical care in the traditional format, if it is convenient for him. But, as a rule, those who used the Digital Clinic service, upon subsequent requests, ask to organize an online consultation, or write to their medical assistant in the mobile application chat.
We plan to expand product options for the treatment and support of patients with chronic diseases (diabetes mellitus, diseases of the cardiovascular system, etc.), where regular monitoring of the patient’s key health indicators and the proactive involvement of medical assistants are required. I am sure we will continue to develop our service, creating the best customer journey in the market.