TEXT JOAQUÍN HERNÁNDEZ | PHOTOGRAPH MAPFRE
MAPFRE recently launched a digital health services platform, which enables anyone – whether or not they have health insurance – to take control of their health.
The world is changing. Technology is increasingly present in everyone’s life, as we can clearly see every day, all around us, in every sphere of activity. And health is no exception. The revolution has also reached this field. Taking care of yourself no longer means seeking treatment when you fall ill. The concept of health is taking on another meaning. The new way of understanding health is linked to vitality and good habits, but also to the availability and ease of use of medical services. Being healthy means feeling good about yourself and your milieu. Today, people want to have access to health services immediately, wherever they are and whatever the time may be. The idea is to have control of your health at all times. In this new context, MAPFRE has just launched Savia, a digital health services platform, on the Spanish market.
Once registered on the platform, anyone can start using the health services currently available on Savia. The services on offer will progressively increase and evolve, in line with what the users start demanding and suggesting should be included. It is really easy and intuitive to use. Once on the platform, you can, for example, request a video call. All you need to do is state the reason for the consultation and who it is for, so that the specialist best suited to that specific need can be sought. Then, all that remains is to schedule the date and time. As simple as that. Should you prefer a chat session with a doctor to immediately resolve a doubt you have, that is also an option.
But that is not all Savia has to offer. There are many more possibilities. You can access over 40 medical specialties – which will increase over time – and schedule medical tests, treatments and surgeries, for example. Each person will use Savia whenever they need it. Individuals thus take control of their own health, with prevention playing an important role. Savia therefore also offers the possibility of finding a personal trainer or nutritionist.
Savia has been created to assist those wishing to monitor and manage their health. “We’re creating the largest digital health platform in Spain. Clients and non-clients alike can monitor their health from the palm of their hands and access a comprehensive catalog of services provided at the level of excellence expected of MAPFRE,” explained José Manuel Inchausti, CEO of MAPFRE’s IBERIA Territorial Area during the presentation of Savia.
Any person registered in Savia can incorporate their underage children to the platform. They will also be able to offer medical services as a gift to other people – a relative, friend, person they live with, etc. All with rigorous control of privacy issues. The privacy of each medical intervention is always guaranteed.
An additional service on offer is the “symptom assessment”, which consists of the user answering a series of questions and then being informed of a possible pathology. This is yet another use of artificial intelligence, although this service – while perhaps one of the most innovative – is no substitute for a diagnosis from a medical professional, but rather is for guidance only.
With Savia you pay for what you use. This is the pay-per-use concept of health services. And, how exactly does this work? Very easy. There are various pay-per-use or subscription payment modalities.
Using a simile, it is rather like Spotify. A platform with some free and other fee-based services. Users can pay per service used or subscribe to a plan. For just 10 euros a month, you can sign up to a plan that includes two video consultations and unlimited chat time with a doctor. However, should users not make use of the former, Savia alerts them in advance to ask whether they wish to extend the period or offer them as a gift to someone.
It is very easy to activate or cancel any plan immediately and without any minimum term or cancellation penalties. Users decide what they want to use, for how long and how much to pay, always in the most flexible manner. This is transparency. And transparency is another of the mainstays on which Savia has been designed. This is the first plan that has been launched, but more are in the pipeline.
What will they be like? The user experience will determine what kind of plans people want and also what needs to be changed on this platform, what to expand, what needs improving, what must be enhanced. Why is this? Because it is precisely the users who have been testing this platform ever since building it up began. The whole setup has been created jointly with real users. They are the ones who have been indicating what they liked, what worked, etc. Savia has been built using the test-and-learn philosophy. This involves testing, making mistakes, trying again, getting it right, developing, testing again and moving forward. More than 10,000 users have been trying out the five different projects made available on the market – under other names – before launching Savia. They are the ones who have said what they wanted and have guided the company regarding the aspects they liked. Co-creation with users is another of the principles underpinning Savia. “We are looking at a new model of engaging with society. Citizens are moving toward a digital, connected world in which they want to be the protagonists. Savia is that solution, as it allows everyone to take control of their health and manage it in a digital, immediate, flexible manner,” declared Pedro Díaz Yuste, manager of Savia, at the public presentation of this new company.
There is a private area on Savia where users can store their full medical history, as well as all the activity registered on this digital platform, with the result that they can easily share all that information with whatever doctor they want, whenever they want. No one, save the users themselves, can access all these details, which are safely stored in the cloud.
Savia is a new concept. It is not insurance, nor is it a smartphone application. It is much more. It is a digital health services platform in constant development, placing technology at the service of individuals. It is a platform that will be progressively adapted to incorporate user suggestions based on their experiences. The user experience is one of the core aspects underpinning Savia. Indeed, it is essential that Savia keeps evolving in line with the demands of its users.
Personalizing the customer experience is central to being able to offer what each user really needs and this is why data and, above all, the interpretation of the same, is of such great importance, because big data is precisely what “feeds” this project. For those who do not have health insurance, Savia hopes to gain half a million users within a period of four years, making private health services more accessible for all; and for those who already have health insurance, it offers additional services that people may need at some point in time, where their policy does not cover that precise need. Savia is therefore complementary to health insurance. It is not a substitute. It means having remote access to health services in the palm of your hand. Why is this? Because anyone with an Internet-connected device can access the Savia services wherever they are, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
With this project, MAPFRE places itself at the cutting edge of this new health 4.0 concept, aiming to take the lead by launching this digital health services application and enhancing its health insurance offering with innovative new products and cover options.
Savia clearly falls within MAPFRE’s commitment to innovation and transformation. Healthcare is changing radically, and this means that, as has been the case in other areas of their lives, users have taken control of their own health. And MAPFRE is right there, determined to accompany users in any interaction related to their health and, to do so, has launched Savia. The individual is firmly at the center of every process, free to decide what they want to use and when they want to use it, and paying only for what they use. And MAPFRE employees will be the first to benefit, as they enjoy a 20 percent discount for any pay-per-use medical services they turn to, thanks to the MAPFRE20 discount code.
Savia is the reflection of a corporate strategic initiative, which has been presented here in Spain, but is a model that could be exported to any other country. Because looking after your health is universal and knows no borders. This is a totally innovative service, given that, for the first time, all health-related aspects are comprehensively brought together on one single platform to offer users what they need at any given moment, allowing them to be the ones who decide everything.
To develop this project, Savia has not only incorporated major hospital groups, with which it has reached agreements that will enable it to offer users the best, most complete team of specialists, but also startups within the digital health ecosystem. Savia combines the experience of health professionals and the leading-edge innovation of these startups. And MAPFRE has brought them together. Savia is available on Google Play and the Apple Store for Android and iOS devices, and at www.saludsavia.com
