Digital Health as a concept grew exponentially during the pandemic and it brought about a change in attitude towards the medium to avail of medical services. Encouraged by the response that Allianz Partners received when it launched its offering in Europe, it has now extended it to countries in Asia-Pacific such as India, Singapore, Chinese Mainland, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines and Australia. The integrated virtual health assistant is supported by MyDoc.

Digital Health Assistant is accessible on a mobile device or desktop via an online messaging platform (WhatsApp, WeChat, Telegram, etc.) and provides customers with immediate and direct access to four core medical services: 

(a)Symptom Checker to evaluate and understand symptoms with an AI-based "self-service" guiding system

(b)Medical Advice via chat with qualified doctors

(c)Video Consultations by MyDoc: Online video consultations with locally licensed doctors who can provide health advice, medical diagnosis, recommend treatments and offer prescriptions in a local language, 7 days a week

(d)Medicine Delivery: Prescription medicine delivered to the patient's doorstep as needed, after the video consultation through MyDoc

This service is the first success story of Allianz Partners' company-wide Digital Access to Care initiative. The ambition is to develop an ever-widening suite of digital tools and services that build on Allianz Partners' telehealth portfolio for various customer segments (travellers, credit card holders and expats). The initiative leverages both Allianz Partners' 'in-house' capabilities and platforms, as well as those of external partners such as MyDoc.

"Today it's all about customer convenience and making access to quality care as fast and easy as possible. Allianz Partners is creating health services that help address people's challenges in today's increasingly fast-paced world. And with the Digital Access to Care initiative, we continue to expand our digital and telehealth services within the arenas of prevention and well-being." said Ida Luka-Lognone, CEO International Health, Allianz Partners.

"Since the start of the pandemic last year, we have observed an increase in demand for telehealth on the MyDoc platform, and the demand continues to rise today. People are changing the way they access healthcare and it's clear digital health is here to stay. said Dr. Snehal Patel, CEO and co-founder, MyDoc.

Aside from the changes in user behaviour, the digital delivery of medical services and information has the potential to ease the burden on healthcare systems. Further technological breakthroughs will allow more sophisticated types of care to be delivered through digital channels and transform the patient experience.