How many times do we have little doubts about our health or about our lifestyle, but we don't dare to go to the family doctor because we don't see it as relevant to make an appointment or the doctor's hours don't fit into our schedule? It can also happen that we have symptoms of 'something', but we do not know which specialist would be the right one.
Before going to Google and venturing to accept any answer that the search engine offers us, it is a good idea to ask a real doctor. For these cases, Savia, MAPFRE's digital health service, has created the "Personal Doctor". It comes to be similar attention to the figure of the trusted family doctor, the one who has been treating the patient for a long time and already knows her history and her profile. The only difference is that new technologies, such as mobile messaging or videoconferencing, allow this relationship to be carried out in a more comfortable, faster way and without having to go to the consultation. All you have to do is book a video consultation with your doctor, stating what is bothering you, for example, "I've got some pimples on my neck" or "lately my knees have hurt when I go down the stairs" to have personalized attention.
The service is offered either uniquely as "Personal Physician Only", or included in the new "Premium Personal Physician" subscription that includes all Savia services. This service includes a personal digital doctor who will accompany and monitor the health of all users.
This Personal Doctor has several advantages. The first and most obvious is the possibility of unlimited consultation of doubts, without that fear that often blocks us from going to the family doctor, either for fear of being annoying, repeat offenders or asking questions that may initially seem trivial. The patient can select her personal doctor and schedule video calls and schedule them digitally on their calendar. You can also ask questions through the messaging service with a response between 24 and 48 hours.
If the ailment requires treatment with a medication, this professional has the ability to issue prescriptions online as long as they are accurate. A quick service for pathologies that are easy to diagnose, but that require a prescription to go to the pharmacy.
But health is not only a matter of curing when there is an ailment. Today we know the importance of prevention as a lever to improve our quality of life and reduce the risk of non-communicable diseases, such as obesity, hypercholesterolemia or other cardiovascular pathologies. To do this, this Personal Physician acts proactively with the patient. Based on health data such as hours of sleep, diet, the practice or not of physical activity, this personal doctor draws up a prevention plan with individualized lifestyle interventions.
But it does not stay on a list of things to do. It includes a proactive follow-up throughout the year, since it is already known that good intentions languish if we do not have someone close to encourage us, pose challenges or advise us when doubts arise. With an advantage: the doctor has access to the entire medical history of the patient. In this way they can advise on health actions, physical activity or food that is most convenient at all times.
To forge authentic doctor-patient trust, an ingredient is needed that goes beyond the well-known confidentiality. And it is the establishment of a lasting relationship, which in professional terms is known as longitudinality in general medicine.
This new Savia service is based on this principle, giving the patient the possibility to choose between several professional doctors. Once the doctor has been chosen, that professional will accompany you throughout the process to guarantee much more personalized assistance. It will be that doctor who already knows the patient and his medical needs, having followed up on him from the beginning. The one who when he hears that "I want to lose a little weight and start exercising" will have a different response for Andrés, 20, than for Manuel, 50. Or one for Clara, without previous pathologies, and another for Marta , with some heart disease, a food intolerance or a knee injury from a month ago.
Of course, the patient can request a change of doctor at any time if he wishes. The objective is for the patient to feel that there is a personalized, reliable, fast and two-way treatment, based on all the connection possibilities offered by new technologies. Because health and prevention must be treated in a constant, personalized and professional way.
Savia's Personal Physician is not alone, since it has an optional management team that will monitor the patient's health, guiding and advising them throughout the process. The management team will help the patient by solving all their doubts about the service, will solve queries about their appointments or the availability of the doctor, and will help them to establish communication with their doctor outside the consultations.
