With the consistently growing influence of digital technology across virtually all sectors, health financing tech company, M-TIBA has partnered with Swedish-based digital healthcare services provider, BYON8 to afford members access to telehealth services.
The deal will see the members offered medical packages through the M-TIBA platform.
The partnership was signed by the Managing director of M-TIBA, Mr. Moses G Kuria, and the CEO and Co-founder of BYON8 Mr. Josef Murad at the M-TIBA offices.
M-TIBA provides a platform through which members can access patient care digitally from specialists on the BYON8 platform.
Through the partnership, members are empowered to access healthcare wherever they are and whenever they need care through digital platforms instantly without queues and zero waiting times since access to doctors is within minutes.
The BYON8 app has many different medical packages which offer its members an unlimited monthly fee that also allows no more annual fees and has no limits.
The app’s main goal is to make high-quality healthcare more accessible, affordable and equal by digitizing healthcare on an individual level.
This is why it was developed as a result of over 4 years of medical research and development by doctors, mathematicians and programmers.
“We have learned that protecting our health and well-being is vital because we believe that being in good health is a new wealth. That’s why our Medical Package solution is designed for you and your family, so you can make the most of it,” said Mr Murad.
“Solutions to increasing the efficiency of healthcare should focus on doing more, using less costs and resources. That is why technology is crucial to reduce operational cost and the key is to put automation into practice in a way that finally the most precious part of the doctor-patient relationship, the human touch, becomes the essence of healthcare,” he added.
To encourage a seamless service, the medical packages are stored and saved online which allows members to use it both online and at any of our referral facilities to access outpatient services.
The medical services members can enjoy include the availability of specialists and GPs available online 24/7, the app also allows prescriptions and medication to be administered online and members can schedule medical tests, X-rays etc. anytime from the comfort of their homes.
The medical packages also have access to more than 100 partner healthcare facilities and pharmacies. Members will never need a medical card again.
According to the Telemedicine Services Market Global Report 2020-30, the global telemedicine services market is expected to grow from $39.3 billion in 2019 to $48.3 billion in 2020 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 23.0%.
The growth has been mainly due to the lockdown that occurred across countries owing to the COVID-19 outbreak and the preference for contactless medical services.
Moreover, those without health insurance showed a rate of just over 40% interest in the technology compared to over 60% of those with insurance.
“Overcoming barriers to healthcare access has been significantly reduced by telehealth. Implementation of telehealth services is one of the ways of ensuring universal healthcare is an achievable outcome in Kenya,” said Mr Kuria.
“This comes at a time when patients have become key players in the delivery of health care services as they are more aware and in control of their health status and outcomes.” he added.
Home-based care through telehealth reduces the costs involved in achieving healthcare access to different healthcare needs.
Every patient enrolled in the program gets the opportunity to interact with doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, nutritionists, and counselors all under one package.
These are services, which would otherwise be too costly to access in terms of time and finances spent to meet each of these cadres independently.
BYON8, is a digital healthcare app that compares your symptoms with thousands of similar clinically confirmed cases to help you find possible explanations and causes for your symptoms. A customized health recommendation will be provided to further guide you through the M-TIBA platform.
Telehealth services are a new solution to some of the challenges facing the healthcare industry. Telemedicine uses information and communications technology to connect community health workers and patients to skilled health professionals without the need for an in-person visit.
With such services, health professionals are able to evaluate, diagnose and provide clinical services to patients remotely via video/audio connections, making healthcare services efficient in caring for their patients.