Health insurer nib New Zealand and digital healthcare provider Tend have partnered to offer eligible nib members remote GP consultations via a smartphone app.
Nib’s CEO, Rob Hennin, says digital healthcare helps address many of the barriers that prevent people from seeking medical advice.
“Our new partnership with Tend means our members no longer need to take time off work, travel across town and sit in a waiting room when they are sick. Instead, seeing a doctor will be easy,” he says.
“There will be no need to make a payment, collect receipts or make claims. This will happen seamlessly behind the scenes – all clients need to do is make an appointment through Tend.”
Tend’s founder and co-CEO Cecilia Robinson says her firm delivers GP services through a purpose-built app “…and is as simple to use as Netflix or Instagram”. If a physical consultation is required then patients can make an appointment to visit Tend’s clinic.
Robinson says around 70 per cent of people who start its signup process finish setting up their account and that booking an appointment with a GP takes around one minute.
Hennin says nib employees and their families have been trialing Tend and feedback shows users resonate with the convenience and ease of using the app.
A Tend exclusive 12-month subscription model will be offered to eligible nib members with GP cover from January 2021.
Southern Cross has a similar offering using ProCare. See our story Southern Cross Offers Online GP Consultations.