Malaysian health technology startup Qmed Asia has recently unveiled its telehealth kiosk for corporate employers.

Called Qmed GO, the kiosk serves as a "mini-clinic" that offers remote online health consultations and diagnoses with licensed GPs. It has cloud-connected medical IoT devices for real-time onsite monitoring of up to 16 vital parameters, whose data can also be accessed via the Qmed patient app and the employer reference dashboard. Qmed Go also provides secure health record access and medication delivery.

The kiosk comes with three versions: Qmed GO, Qmeg GO Plus, and Qmed GO Lite, that can be installed within workplace premises. 

WHY IT MATTERS

"Over the last two decades, employer-sponsored health plan costs have dramatically increased. Doctor visits, prescription drugs, and medical procedures have never been more expensive," claimed Dr Kev Lim, CEO of Qmed Asia.

This year, the cost of employer-sponsored healthcare benefits was expected to rise by 7.6% across Asia-Pacific, according to a report by global advisory firm Willis Towers Watson. Specifically for Malaysia, insurers are expecting costs to go as high as 16.2%. 

To bring down costs, APAC organisations were found to have introduced telehealth to their medical portfolio.

According to Qmed, its health kiosks are designed to reduce overhead costs around employee medical coverage. "We hope that our Qmed GO series can help employers adopt technological innovation to improve healthcare accessibility, quality, and efficiency in this post-pandemic world," Dr Lim added.

THE LARGER TREND

Other health technology providers across APAC have been rolling out telehealth kiosks to improve access to crucial healthcare services amid the ongoing pandemic.

In May, India Health Link, a digital health company in India, teamed up with medical supply marketplace Medikabazaar to deliver and expand the coverage of its self-service health kiosk called Health Pod, which screens over 20 vital parameters. 

Another local firm, Docty, has been setting up 100 health kiosks across ​​India since April. The kiosks are being installed in offline stores, local pharmacies, photo-copy centres, and internet cafes with the aim to improve healthcare access in rural and impoverished urban communities.

Last year in September, Singapore-based Fullerton Health launched its telehealth kiosk that combines telemedicine with automated vending of medicines. It has tried out the kiosk in a dormitory housing for migrant workers.