MANILA -- A study commissioned by British life insurer Pru Life UK has cited the need for the government to reconsider laws and regulations that will allow the use of mobile technologies for health-related services.
In a briefing Wednesday, Prudential Corporation Asia chief health officer Andrew Wong said healthcare is a significant concern and an opportunity in the region due to rising number of underinsured middle class, rising aging population, and increasing lifestyle diseases due to sedentary lifestyle.
He said as part of the company’s bid toward digital health, it is tapping artificial intelligence (AI) to allow more people to easily access quality healthcare with the introduction of a mobile app in some countries where the firm has operations like Malaysia.
In the Philippines, Prudential Corporation’s entity is Pru Life UK.
Wong said they will have a soft launch for the app in the Philippines before the end of 2019 and formal launch in early 2020.
He said they are now in talks with health officials, among others, to explain the importance of mobile health (mHealth) applications and discuss challenges.
These challenges include legal ones like barrier for entry of foreign investments due to doing business concerns, foreign ownership restrictions, practice of professions, and intellectual property protection.
On the other hand, the mobile app is seen to help the government gather health-related data of the population in line with the universal health care (UHC) program.
Wong said people find it hard to go to doctors to have their selves checked due to unequal access and high cost of healthcare.
Another problem is the rise of chronic diseases brought by unhealthy lifestyle, such as consumption of alcoholic beverages and tobacco products, as well as unhealthy food.
Wong said Prudential Corporation has teamed up with healthcare professionals and technology providers to come up with the mHealth app.
He, however, clarified that the app is not meant to replace doctors and hospitals.
“At the end of the day, if you’re seriously ill, you still need to go to see a doctor and hospital and so we make it very clear in the disclaimer, put up before you use the applications...What we are trying to do is to provide additional useful information to the users,” he said.
When asked who would use the app more, the indigents or the rich, Wong said in some areas, people share their mobile phones and internet access so that more people are able to access the mHealth app.
“We don’t expect everybody to have their own device and access the internet but within the community, you can share that and that can be very powerful,” he added. (PNA)
