Pointwest Empowers Maxicare Health Pods, brings Improved Customer Service

Robert Ramos
November 15, 2018

Improved customer service through the latest healthcare innovation in telemedicine and the Internet-of-Things (IOT) is now a reality for members of a healthcare provider giant with the launch of the Maxicare Health Pods.

Pointwest, the leading digital innovation and IT company in the Philippines, was Maxicare’s technology partner in the development of its Health Pods, which were made public on 22 October 2018. With the first units deployed at the Manila Doctors Hospital along United Nations Ave, Manila, they make up the first-in-country health facility powered by digital innovation, dubbed the Maxicare HealthHub. Pointwest’s innovative solutions delivered the paperless queuing system and the application that connects users of the Maxicare Health Pods to either a doctor or a care coordinator, which powered vital components of the innovative tool.

“When we decided to embark on this project a lot of people were skeptical. What our objective really was to ensure that our members have convenient and fast access to the best medical care.”
— Christian Argos, Maxicare President

“We make these investments and really innovate to make sure that members know where to go,”  Mr. Argos added. “And when they go to very good and very efficient hospitals and clinics they get convenient access to the services offered by the hospital and  the services offered by the doctors who practice in that hospital.”

Fully Automated, Healthcare Anywhere

The Maxicare Health Pods allow for a fully-automated system where its members can simply go to the Health Pod to either consult with a doctor or get a Letter of Authorization (LOA) for further tests and other services in an accredited medical facility.

Pointwest’s Arlene Canlas explains that the Health Pod simply needs the patient to go up to the HealthHub’s registration tablet, which starts the whole process by queuing the patient. The queuing system prioritizes people with disabilities, the elderly, and pregnant women. When the member is next in the queue, he or she is directed to proceed to an assigned Pod and can connect either with a care coordinator or a doctor. These medical professionals can be within the vicinity of the HealthHub or completely someplace else — even on the other side of the globe, and are connected to the user through the Pod’s telemedicine interface.

Aside from a telepresence consultation with the doctor or care coordinator, the Pods are equipped with medical devices that allow for basic diagnostics like taking one’s blood pressure, temperature, and BMI (Body Mass Index). These devices are integrated to the pod and provide the initial diagnostic information to the doctor through internet of things (IoT).

Ms. Canlas shared that the Maxicare Health Pods uses a version of Pointwest’s Sage, an application that digitizes eligibility and approvals. Sage is a part of Pointwest’s Easimed suite of healthcare applications.

“Pointwest’s Sage was customized for use in Maxicare’s Health Pods,” Ms. Canlas said. “Members simply need to go to the kiosk and transact most of their business there. They don’t have to spend time waiting to be seen by a doctor elsewhere.”

The Maxicare Health Pods are also able to do paperless ordering, a first in local medical services. Ms. Sylvia Stolk, Maxicare’s VP for Operations, said that, “when you leave the Health Pod you will be able to go straight to the Madocs Outpatient and Inpatient area without having to carry paper.”

Accessibility for the physically challenged is another aspect that the team considered. The core component of the HealthPod can be retrofitted into any structure, which makes it possible to adjust the interfaces and allow people in wheelchairs to enter the pods. In the Madocs Maxicare HealthHub, one of the Pods has a wider entry and the interfaces are situated lower to be more accessible for those in wheelchairs.

Maxicare Health Pods in Hospitals, Just the Beginning

Maxicare’s Argos said that the company plans to make the Health Pods available not just in hospitals but also in malls and offices. “It is our goal to make this prevalent in the future,” Argos said.

Providing access to healthcare is the primary motivation for the Maxicare Health Pods. One of the primary considerations to the concept is making healthcare available to patients and users when they need it and where they need it. With the core components of the pods being available across different channels, the pods can be installed in any facility, be it hospitals, malls, offices, and even schools.

The roadmap for the Maxicare HealthPods point to the direction of utlimately providing access to telemedicine wherever and whenever people need it. This may be in the form of mobile devices or even wearables. As Maxicare’s technology partner, Pointwest stands ready to take on the challenge to providing its digital innovation expertise to offer mobile, IoT, data engineering, cybersecurity, and other digital technologies necessary to accomplishing the roadmap for the Maxicare HealthPods.

“The goal of Maxicare has always been to provide maximum care, which is to allow ourselves and partners to focus on what is most important. And that is quality care. Safe, relevant, equitable and rational care for our membership.”
— Sylvia Stolk, Maxicare’s VP for Operations

About Pointwest

Founded in 2003 by pioneers of the Philippine Global Sourcing industry, Pointwest creates value for its list of satisfied clients — including top Fortune 100 and local companies — with world-class digital innovation and IT modernization services backed by international-standard methodologies, and innovative practices.