MLC Life Insurance has chosen the 2018 Synchron Conference as the launching pad for the Australian introduction of its Mental Health Navigator initiative.
Delivered via its existing Best Doctors service, now owned by virtual global health services provider, Teladoc, the Mental Health Navigator is intended to offer quick, virtual access to a network of leading Australian clinical psychologists and psychiatrists.
According to Best Doctors GM and Senior Vice President of International Business, Darren Reynolds, the initiative also offers the services of a dedicated mental health nurse to support MLC Life Insurance policy holders and their immediate family members, along with the services of the specialist clinical consultants, to obtain certainty about their diagnosis and treatment plan for a mental health condition.
…the healthcare sector is …the last frontier for digital disruption.
The context within which this initiative was announced relates to the fact that the healthcare sector, according to Reynolds, is “…the last frontier for digital disruption.”
Reynolds used a show of hands from his audience to confirm the majority in the room were regular digital users of transport, accommodation, banking, shopping, music, research and other services, but when it came to utilising virtual medical advice, hardly a hand was raised.
Reynolds predicted that access to virtual mental health care in Australia would become far more common over the next few years, where he said technology can actually enable transformation in the healthcare sector by enhancements and efficiencies in:
- Access
- Cost
- Choice
- Quality
Marketed as a new approach to mental health care services in Australia, MLC Life Insurance notes the service delivers value if the client is busy and finds it difficult to go and see a clinician, is located in a rural area, or if they just prefer to seek an assessment in the comfort and convenience of their own home.
