Launches mobile app to enhance patients’ experience

JAKARTA, INDONESIA - Media OutReach - 2 April 2019 - Columbia Asia Hospital, one of the largest and fastest-growing healthcare companies in Asia, has outlined key trends impacting the healthcare industry in these times of digital living and convenience. Being a leading healthcare provider in the region with patients base of over three million across four markets, puts Columbia Asia Hospital in a good position to observe patients' behavior and implement solutions catering to their evolving needs.   

Dr. Kelvin Loh, Group Chief Executive Officer, Columbia Asia commented about existing healthcare trends, "The key trends observed by us clearly highlight that modern patients are demanding for personalized, quick and seamless healthcare delivery. This makes dealing with the healthcare system much more convenient for them, something that hasn't been typical of healthcare delivery systems in the past. Our studies have also shown that technology advancements in healthcare have the potential of closing the communication and information gap between patients and providers. As a company that is continuously looking for better ways to enhance services to our patients, we will try to bring in newer systems and processes that will be in line with demands of the times."

Key healthcare trends 2019 -- Columbia Asia Hospital:

• Patients are looking for the best consultation with efficient services: Patients today are expecting a lot in terms of the service that they receive. These expectations range from well-maintained hospitals, helpful doctors, nurses and staff, shorter waiting time for appointments, quick access to health records et al.

• The future of healthcare lies in efficiency: For primary and secondary care, patients prefer to rely on neighborhood / small-sized hospitals that provide easier access to quality healthcare services. In addition, smaller hospitals provide focused treatment options and shorter in-patient stays enabling them to keep costs low for patients. Leveraging digital technologies on a smaller scale further permits cost effective delivery of specialist care.

• Tapping into the realm of mobile healthcare: More and more healthcare organizations are relying on patient interface through mobile apps. Apps often feature the ability to schedule appointments, access patient's medical history and test results, send reminders and provide option of cashless payment for acquired services.

• Social media space is the new word-of-mouth. Consumers today have the option of checking reviews before making most purchase decisions -- hospital choices are also increasingly getting dependent on reviews found in the online space. Other factors such as presence on social media platforms and its responsiveness have an influence on patients' hospital preference.  

In line with the highlighted trends, Columbia Asia has launched its official mobile app aimed to enhance their service offerings to patients. Keeping up with emerging healthcare trends that are shaping the industry globally further drives the needs for hospital operators to continuously make patients' experience at hospitals hassle-free and less time consuming.

The patient-centric application allows for services such as booking and managing of appointments, payment, hospital-related queries, along with retrieving of corporate information and promotions to be more seamless and efficient. (Payment function will be ready in Malaysia and Indonesia soon)

"The launch of our official mobile app is yet another initiative in our digital transformation journey, as more and more people, particularly the millennials are opting for healthcare providers that offer treatment with added convenience. Aside from better serving the needs of our patients, the mobile application gives us a cost-effective solution to reduce time in operational manpower," added Dr Loh.

During the trial period of the mobile app deployment, Columbia Asia witnessed encouraging results including 16 percent cut down in out-patient journey time and an overall improved staff efficiency of 8 to 9 percent, subsequently adding to increased time for staff-patient engagement.

Available on both iOS and Android platforms, Columbia Asia is looking at the enhancement of several services in the future such as exclusive medical package offerings and more. Pilot program has also been launched with an app for physicians as part of its efforts to improve connectivity to the IT platform to aid in better patient engagement.

Download Links

Apple App Store: http://bit.ly/cah_ios

Google Play Store: http://bit.ly/cah_android

About Columbia Asia

Columbia Asia is an international private healthcare company founded by an American entrepreneur, Mr. Daniel Baty in 1996. From the outset, Columbia Asia envisioned to provide quality, affordable healthcare services easily accessed by people wherever they live - driven by our vision statement, a passion for making people better. It is owned by an investment fund, International Columbia US, LLC (ICU). In 2016, Mitsui & Co., a Japanese conglomerate with deep operating experience in Asia joined as a shareholder in ICU.

Today, Columbia Asia is one of the largest and fastest growing hospital groups in Asia. It currently has 12 hospitals in Malaysia, 11 in India, 2 in Vietnam and 3 in Indonesia.

With no more than 200 beds per hospital, it leverages modern technology to provide efficient specialist care and to reduce length of hospital stays which results in more cost-effective care. The hospitals of Columbia Asia provide a wide array of specialist services such as General Surgery, Pediatrics, Obstetrics & Gynecology, Orthopedics, Internal Medicine, Oncology, Cardiology, Neurosurgery, Bariatric surgery and more.  These are appropriately supported by ancillary services that include an Intensive Care Unit, Neonatal Care Unit, Physiotherapy, Laboratory, Pharmacy and Imaging. At Columbia Asia, strict clinical governance, ethics and excellence are demanded.