National Australia Bank (NAB) has partnered with healthtech startup Medipass Solutions to announce the development of a new platform that will integrate the bank’s Health Insurance Claims and Payment Solutions (HICAPS) system.
Planned for release later this year, the app will look to connect patients to health practitioners online by allowing patients to view practitioners in their local area, see their availability, and book appointment times.
Patients can also view the estimated cost of an appointment, as well as receive reminder notices and live updates on bookings. For health practitioners, the platform will look to give them an efficient way to handle the time-consuming process of handling bookings, payments, and other administrative processes.
Jonathan Davey, executive general manager of NAB’s innovation hub NAB Labs, described the platform as delivering an “Uber-like” approach to health care, explaining that it streamlines the healthcare process, from the point of booking an appointment to paying for the consultation.
“The solution delivers a seamless and transparent experience for patients, practitioners and health insurers, through a digitally integrated platform; the first of its kind globally with such breadth and capability,” Davey said.
Using NAB’s HICAPS health claims and payment system, the platform will connect to a patient’s health fund, which will generate the estimated expenses of a consultation. Following an appointment, patients will then be able to instantly claim health insurance benefits and pay any remaining gaps on their smartphone.
Davey said that currently NAB and Medipass Solutions have been working beside Medibank and a handful of practitioners to test the platform, with more set to be brought before launch.
“We will shortly broaden testing to further practitioners and we will work with more health insurers to bring to fruition the full benefits this service can offer,” Mr Davey said.
Medipass Solutions was developed within NAB labs, having sprouted out from Melbourne click-and-collect startup, Localz. The startup received a capital investment from NAB Ventures, which was used to begin development on Medipass Solutions.
Medipass cofounder Pete Williams believes the platform is a one of a kind product in the market, which will help add flexibility and trust to the healthcare experience.
“We’re really re-imagining the healthcare customer experience, for patients, practitioners and health funds, creating one that is entirely digital, simpler to navigate and instantly accessible,” said Williams.
With less than 4 percent of health practitioners in private practice providing online services to their patients, according to 2016 Medicare data, the platform will look to address the low numbers.
Also looking to increase the reach and impact of healthtech services, with a focus on regional areas, the CSIRO earlier this year announced a partnership through its Data61 arm with startup Coivu and regional allied health network Health Team Australia. The partnership will see the launch of a regional telehealth platform.
The platform, however, focuses on connecting rural patients to city healthcare professionals rather than on streamlining the healthcare process. Expected to connect up to 20,000 regional patients, the platform allows health practitioners to video chat with patients for their consultation.
Earlier this week Westpac announced a partnership with Surgical Partners, a startup providing a financial management platform for medical practices.
The companies will work together to “accelerate the adoption of Surgical Partners’ integration, reconciliation, and doctor billings technology”, according to Westpac, while also collaborating on new complementary digital solutions.
Surgical Partners offers a financial management platform that integrates practice management systems with accounting systems, facilitating digital bank reconciliation and the real-time division of Doctors’ billings into practice share and Doctor share.
Image: NAB & Medipass Solutions. Source: AFR.
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