Pager’s New COVID-19 Solution Aims to Help Flatten the Curve
NEW YORK, April 2, 2020 — Pager, a virtual care companion technology that provides a personalized, omni-channel care experience throughout people’s healthcare journey, today launched its white label COVID-19 solution globally. The AI-based offering was specifically created to address the unique challenges COVID-19 poses to providers, payers, and the public.
“People across the globe are scared and lack consistent, reliable information about symptoms, exposure, and risks. With or without COVID-19, patients are confused, which is why they flock to emergency rooms where two-thirds of cases could have been handled virtually.”
Using a zero-integration approach, virtually any health plan or health system can deploy Pager’s COVID-19 forward triage solution within a matter of days. With Pager, they can instantly offer their patients and members convenient access to risk assessment services, telemedicine services from licensed clinicians, and designated locations for testing and emergency treatment for COVID-19 if appropriate. Pager’s white label service also helps health systems and insurance companies empower their patients and members to bypass the long hold and wait times they would experience when trying to contact a provider or hospital directly. Currently, the average wait time to talk with a nurse via Pager is 30 seconds.
The decision to deploy this service to health systems and insurers on a global scale comes as Pager has helped Colombia flatten its curve. When the number of COVID-19 cases began to increase in Latin America, Pager’s solution for the disease was deployed through one of Colombia’s largest insurers with four million members. Now on a global scale, Pager aims to replicate early success by assisting organizations in ensuring that their patients and members who are symptomatic, elderly or already sick get immediate assistance, while easing the minds of those who fear they could be infected.
Pager’s service addresses the complexities associated with connecting people to care in the midst of a pandemic. Built on top of its existing sophisticated virtual care platform, Pager has developed a clinical triage protocol that first identifies members at risk for COVID-19 before navigating them to the right point of care according to their needs and symptoms.
Members deemed not at risk after an initial assessment receive clear, detailed instructions and recommendations for self-care while those who present the possibility of risk are routed to a nurse for a live chat consultation via Web, mobile or phone. If the patient requires more care, he or she is then directed to a video visit with a doctor who can best diagnose their condition and treatment needs. And if the physician requests it, Pager then directs the member to the appropriate hospital and informs them of what procedures to follow on site, such as which door to enter or whether they should wait in their car upon arrival. Pager will also connect with the designated hospital to inform its team that a patient is on the way. This assists providers in preparing for potential spikes in volume. This entire process is typically completed in less than 20 minutes. Additionally, Pager’s team follows up with patients and plan members to ensure ongoing well-being. Through this comprehensive flow, Pager raises the standard of care while increasing clinician capacity to deal with the most serious cases.
“People across the globe are scared and lack consistent, reliable information about symptoms, exposure, and risks. With or without COVID-19, patients are confused, which is why they flock to emergency rooms where two-thirds of cases could have been handled virtually,” said Walter Jin, CEO of Pager. “Unnecessary trips to the ER not only put these patients at greater risk for contracting the virus by leaving self isolation, they also place a massive strain on clinical resources which are already in short supply. People want immediate access to an expert who can tell them exactly what’s wrong and where to go for help, and that’s what Pager allows insurance plans and health systems to offer through a personalized experience. It’s just like having a doctor in the family.”
Flattening the Curve in Action
This game-changing solution was developed earlier this month after the first case of COVID-19 was diagnosed in Colombia on March 6. Almost instantly, a Pager customer and subsidiary of one of the biggest insurance organizations in Latin America, saw a 4x surge in virtual care chats. This overwhelmed its clinicians and healthcare infrastructure.
To help, Pager created the COVID-19-specific triage protocol, which was deployed over the course of a weekend. Within the first week, nearly 40% of all member-initiated chats were related to the disease, and those numbers continue to climb. Of those who entered the Pager COVID-19 triage system, approximately one-third were able to stay home and implement specific self-care measures, alleviating the immediate strain on hospitals across Colombia.
As it continues to improve on its COVID-19 offering in real time, Pager is rolling out the service in the U.S. where the pandemic is ballooning, and across the globe. Customers of its current virtual care service can add on the COVID-19 AI-powered features while any health system or insurance company has the ability to implement Pager’s COVID-19 solution in a matter of days.
About Pager
Pager is your virtual care companion that provides a personalized, connected care experience throughout your healthcare journey, like having a “doctor in the family.” Pager provides people with the right information, navigation and coordination services to access the complete set of virtual care services including triage, telemedicine, prescriptions, appointments, transportation and after-care follow-up. Pager simplifies the healthcare experience by enabling collaboration with multiple healthcare professionals into a unified group conversation through various omni-channel modalities. Pager’s embedded SaaS technology integrates with claims and clinical data systems, in addition to third-party point solutions, to enable AI automation that delivers a personalized, seamless engagement experience. Pager partners with payers, providers and employers to offer this solution to over 10 million people across the United States, in addition to Latin America.
