Vensa Health reimagines primary healthcare access

Vensa Health reimagines primary healthcare access; unveils new apps on Vensa.com

AUCKLAND, NZ. November 9, 2017 – Award-winning health solutions company Vensa Health has launched its digital technology vision for sustainable healthcare access. As part of that vision, the company unveiled its repeat prescription and payment applications for its Vensa.com platform, the first in a series of disruptive innovations to be released.

The company made history in New Zealand late last year when it launched Vensa.com with the vAppointment free appointment system, which allows patients to book their own appointments with their doctor, nurse or clinic in real-time via the web or mobile.

Ahmad Jubbawey, CEO of Vensa Health says, “We’re on a mission to radically improve efficiency for healthcare providers, to make their health services more convenient, more affordable and more accessible for Kiwis. To do this we’re taking medical centres on a digital transformation journey to increase their adoption of technology.

“Our online booking, prescription and payment applications are just one of the first steps. Applications for lab results and medical notes were also unveiled, and we’re even working on enabling virtual consultations.”

Jubbawey says that the need to disrupt the current market model with new innovation is being driven by a primary healthcare industry under increasing pressure.

“We have a decreasing medical workforce with an estimated 44% of doctors set to retire in the next decade. A recent report on burnout in New Zealand’s senior medical profession also estimates that 27% are experiencing burnout. We also know that thirty per cent of Kiwis have experienced an unmet need over the past year when it comes to accessing a health centre. We require bold thinking to meet the current and future needs of Kiwis, to ensure they receive the best care possible.”

Vensa Health has established strong relationships with GP providers to gain insights on how technology can increase access to primary care.

The vScript app streamlines the repeat prescription process for patients, also reducing the risk of missed prescription requests by manually handling through the clinic. Smart pre-checks reduce requests that will be declined, for example by linking to information about when a patient last saw a GP at the clinic.

The Vensa Pay solution allows GPs to give patients the option to pay online for prescriptions as part of the online order process.

The vLab and vMed apps, set for release early next year, will streamline the lab results and clinical notes processes. The apps will allow results and information to be shared quickly, easily and reduce the need for phone calls. The vLab and vMed apps will be offered to medical practices for free forever, as with vAppointment. vScript will incur a small transaction fee for each accepted script.

Jubbawey says, “We take a human-centered approach to technology design to ensure the Vensa.com platform and our online apps, which don’t require anything to be downloaded, are intuitive for clinicians and patients alike. We want to encourage Kiwis to access their doctors anytime, anywhere and on any device. By all enabling practices to provide patients with free access to their own health records via Vensa.com, we’re increasing access to care and health information. Importantly, this increases a patient’s involvement in their own wellbeing.”

Last week Vensa Health was named the winner of the New Zealand Health IT (NZHIT) Innovation Award for Vensa.com, with the judges noting it was “a paradigm shift from the patient portals available currently.’’

Jubbawey says, “The win is a fantastic endorsement as it lets Kiwis know our Vensa.com platform is the best of its kind. We’re supporting new business models and enabling models of care delivered at the primary, community and individual levels of our society.”

The company’s first innovation, TXT2Remind, is used by around 70% of General Practices in New Zealand to deliver health messages. Appointment, screening and medication reminders are being delivered to more than 3 million Kiwis a year through its technology. To date Vensa has sent over 40 million health messages on behalf of GPs and nurses. Every month thousands of people also book GP appointments online in real time via the Vensa.com free booking platform.

Jubbawey says, “Our solutions are having a dramatic impact on the health status of New Zealanders by supporting the primary care strategy to help improve health outcomes such as increasing child immunisation rates, early cancer detection and supporting smokers to quit.

The launch event was held at Vodafone InnoV8 in Christchurch last night. Vensa Health is one of ten companies in the Vodafone xone accelerator programme designed to help power innovations to the next level.

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