Unfortunately, the accessibility of primary healthcare is under severe pressure. For example, 75% of Belgian general practitioners have entirely or partly ceased to take on new patients. Waiting times of up to two weeks are no exception, even for regular patients. The new legislation allowing the recovery of sick days during vacation as of 1 January 2024 presents another fresh challenge.
Due to the growing problem of absenteeism and talent attraction and retention, a strong well-being offering and policy is therefore rightly a major priority for Belgian HR managers today. Hospitalisation insurance and, to a growing extent, outpatient care insurance have become widespread, contributing to affordable healthcare and a distinctive benefits package.
Evelyne Lauwers, Health expert at Vanbreda Risk & Benefits: “Awareness of the value of well-being is growing in the workplace. We can only applaud this evolution because good health is our greatest wealth. Together with Doktr, Vanbreda Risk & Benefits wants to help lower the barrier to quality health care. We firmly believe that video consultations with licensed general practitioners will be a valuable addition to our group health insurance plans.”
To support employers in these challenges, Vanbreda Risk & Benefits is launching its new remote consultation cover in partnership with Doktr on 1 January 2024. This gives the insured access to video consultations without the need for paperwork and down payments thanks to the third-party payer system. Vanbreda Risk & Benefits’ own employees, who are themselves convinced of the benefits, will be the first to be able to opt for this innovative service. Businesses that have purchased group health insurance with Vanbreda Risk & Benefits may also choose to opt in.
Jan Van Wijnendaele, managing director of Doktr: “Healthy employees and a strong positioning on well-being are vital for companies. We are therefore pleased to partner with Vanbreda Risk & Benefits to increase accessibility to care for local businesses and their employees. Doktr can play an important role in this by offering patients a user-friendly and secure way to remotely consult licensed Belgian healthcare providers, and allowing companies to offer their employees access to hybrid care without administrative hassle.”
With Doktr’s user-friendly and secure app, employees can easily consult a licensed Belgian GP by video consultation. Since its launch, the app has already clocked up more than 100,000 registered users. The ease of use and ready availability of physicians is reflected in a high patient satisfaction rate of as much as 93%.
The new cover for video consultations will allow employees easier access to primary care. This provides them with better and quicker guidance in their health choices and prevents absenteeism for physical travel to medical appointments. They also get access to seasonal advice and tips in the form of medically verified advice pages, blogs and informative newsletters.
