Due of the current public health situation, the Makati Medical Center (MMC) said it will to offer healthcare consultations, even while patients are at home, in partnership with digital payment firm PayMaya.
MMC’s “teleconsultation” service is currently being piloted by a number of doctors of the hospital, allowing them to provide necessary healthcare advice and consultations even from a location outside of their clinic in MMC.
Through technology-aided video conferencing apps such as Zoom which can be downloaded from the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store, both doctors and patients can communicate with each other even from long distances to have quick medical consultations when needed.
Once the teleconsultation is over, patients will receive an SMS from their doctor which will contain details on how they can pay for the consultation fee via their PayMaya account.
Aside from this, each doctor participating in this service will have his or her own PayMaya QR code which they can ask patients to scan using the PayMaya app to pay the teleconsultation fee.
“As the saying goes, necessity is the mother of invention. And at times like this where we are facing an unprecedented crisis, our response must be innovative as well. Hopefully, as we pilot this ‘teleconsultation’ service, we are able to provide much-needed expert medical advice to our patients who are staying home while we continue being on the frontline fighting the Covid-19 pandemic here in the Philippines,” said Saturnino P. Javier, medical director and interim co-CEO of MMC.
Shailesh Baidwan, president of PayMaya, said enabling teleconsultation with digital payments will allow the hospital to lower the risk of acquiring or spreading the virus among doctors and patients.
“We are one with Makati Medical Center in looking for solutions that will help address people’s needs during this critical time,” he said. By employing teleconsultation, Baidwan said MMC is not only helping promote social distancing but is also ensuring the safety of the patients and the medical staff.
Patients who want to reach their MMC doctor for medical consultation from the comfort of their home may contact their doctor(s) or MakatiMed On-Call at 8888-8999 to check if their doctor provides remote consultation through teleconferencing. Patients with existing doctor-patient relationship is the minimum eligibility requirement and those who do not require immediate or urgent care.
Aside from assisting in contactless consultations and payments for MMC doctors, PayMaya has also launched its #OneAgainstCovid19 campaign, which intends to raise funds on behalf of organizations leading initiatives to help frontline medical personnel and provide urgent response and relief efforts to combat the effects of the pandemic.
