As COVID-19 safe management measures (SMMs) lift, many of you would have likely felt the squeeze as crowds started to appear. With more people out and about, this will likely translate into longer waiting times everywhere, including hospitals.
Health problems are usually time-sensitive and require treatment as soon as possible. However, not everyone has the luxury of time to wait their turn at hospitals. Hence, to meet their healthcare needs, many have turned to an alternate solution: e-medical concierges.
Did you know that like hotels, the healthcare industry also has its own concierge services?
In hospitals, patient or clinical concierges help patients navigate the complex world of clinical trials, medical services, and medical insurance. Their primary purpose is to make the patient’s stay in the hospital as comfortable as possible.
Outside of hospitals, medical concierges also exist online and usually act as intermediaries between patients and private healthcare providers. The end result is usually faster, more convenient and personalised treatment.
Online medical concierges can be differentiated into subtypes such as:
Most medical concierges often have services that overlap between the three types stated above so as to capture a broader pool of customers. Some have even further differentiated to provide services such as managing employee medical benefits for companies.
When you engage the services of Concierge Nurses, you find that concierge nurses are:
This means patients directly contact the individual nurse to request specific healthcare services and can receive physical aid at whichever location they are at.
Those patients on a subscription plan will also have to pay a regular fee for the nurse’s healthcare services. This regular fee will have to be paid even if there were no visits during the subscription period (e.g. 0 visits a month incurs the same cost as 30 visits a month).
An e-medical concierge usually does not send healthcare professionals to go to a patient physically but recommends doctors for a patient to visit.
Payment modes also differ between Medical Concierges and Concierge Nursing. Medical Concierges are more varied in payment plans, whereby patients enjoy the services for free or pay based on the services used. Concierge Nurses usually only have two modes of payment — subscription-based payments and pay-by-service plans.
To engage the services of an e-Medical Concierge in Singapore, simply contact the concierge, and tell them about your concerns. From there, the healthcare advisor on the call will refer you to a specialist who can tackle your problems.
Depending on which Medical Concierge you call, they may even help you book an appointment with said specialist or arrange a hospital admission if you urgently require medical care.
If you are an overseas patient, some clinics will be able to help with your travel arrangements all to facilitate your healthcare experience.
Some examples of e-Medical Concierges in Singapore include:
In general, medical concierge services in Singapore are targeted at both local and foreign patients. The list of services they provide is wide and varied, but a few common services are as follows.
Medical Concierge Services for both local and foreign patients:
Additional Medical Concierge Services for foreign patients:
Do note that this list does not capture all services provided by the various Medical Concierges, but serves only as a general guide.
The cost generally depends on the services and concierge you choose.
Services such as booking appointments, answering enquiries and referrals to specialists are free of charge for most medical concierges.
However, if your choose to engage the services of a concierge doctor, you will need to pay regular membership fees. Otherwise, consultation fees for specialists are usually determined by the clinic you choose to go to after obtaining free referrals from the Medical Concierge.
Apart from looking at the services offered by the Medical Concierge, you should also choose a concierge that you can trust to:
One good example is Beyond Medical Assistance, which provides unbiased referrals to all doctors, public or private. These referrals will also be guided by specialists who have at least 15 years of clinical experience and a healthcare management team, with a combined experience of over 40 years in the industry. That way, you can rest assured, knowing that the medical aid you receive is what you truly need.
Other than that, you are free to choose any concierge services that you feel most comfortable with.
Contacting an e-Medical Concierge Service is usually hassle-free and done via a text message or phone call.
The first step is to Google for a Medical Concierge that looks like it would suit you. Then just look for the “Contact Us” button on their respective websites or contact information like:
For Beyond Medical Assistance, please call us or WhatsApp us for any enquiry.
Medical concierges are free and easily accessible to the public. If you want to skip the queue at hospitals to get a doctor’s appointment, need a specialist referral, or simply want your medical enquiries answered by healthcare professionals, this is definitely a suitable option for you.
