I have been speaking about the importance of text-based mobile interactions for over a decade. It is great to see the technology being leveraged for some life-saving telehealth and telemedecine solutions during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Thanks so much to Robyn Bainbridge for the opportunity to speak alongside Dr Luke James, Kim-Fredrik Schneider, Bettina Gammelgaard, Robin Ingle, Patrick Graham and Michelle Elmore about the new normal of telehealth. This is a very well researched long read in the latest edition of ITIJ in print and online. Here are a few quotes:
“What was barely acceptable a few years ago is unforgivable today,” Oisin Lunny told ITIJ, commenting on the familiar scenario of a customer being forced to join a call centre queue to speak to their service provider. ” Spurred by our transition to a UX-obsessed planet of phono-sapiens, consumers have zero tolerance for a bad customer experience. While the insurance industry has arguably taken some years to grapple with the new normal of tech-empowered consumers, the good news is that the innovation cavalry has arrived just in time.”
Reasoning that video calls are not for everyone and can be as time-consuming and archaic as in-person visits, Lunny explains that a text-based consultation (a form of ‘micro-consultation’) with a real doctor strikes the perfect balance. These asynchronous micro-consultations, Lunny continues to explain, are enabling consumers to interact with healthcare providers wherever they are, at their own pace, on their own terms, and in a nonintrusive fashion.
“AI and machine learning under the hood is the icing on the cake, ensuring a frictionless user experience that gets better every time,” he said. “Textbased micro-consultations are a genuine life-saver, both for consumers who feel more at home so utilise the platform more, and for insurance companies who can see the storm clouds of disruption forming.”
Oisin Lunny in Telemedicine – Breaking Down The Barriers To Change from ITIJ
About ITIJ
The International Travel & Health Insurance Journal (ITIJ) was launched in November 1999 following the growing success of the annual International Travel & Health Insurance Conference (ITIC). It is produced by a team dedicated to offering a resource that keeps those involved in the provision and service of travel and international health insurance up to date with all the latest news, views and analysis on the hottest industry topics.
Through its digital and print platforms, ITIJ provides a careful balance of headline news, views, independent articles, and profiles on the top people and companies in travel insurance.
ITIJ also offers in-depth analysis on specific industry sectors – Air Ambulance, Assistance & Repatriation, and Cost Containment – through its suite of annual Review publications.
For those looking to find potential business partners in various industry sectors in different parts of the world, ITIJ’s Service Directory offers a one-stop solution for finding new contacts.
Launched in 2002, the ITIJ Industry Awards reward excellence and innovation across a broad range of industry sectors in the global travel and health insurance industry. The ITIJ Industry Awards are hosted at the Finale Dinner of ITIC Global each year. ITIJ is the official media partner of ITIC.
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