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As the second wave of COVID-19 takes a toll on lives in India, hospitals and medical facilities in the country are struggling to keep up with the rising number of infections. The crisis has led many to evaluate how seriously they take their health.

From listening to what your body is saying to getting regular check-ups, detecting early signs of an illness and seeking timely medical advice can go a long way in ensuring robust health. With a focus on preventative care, Pune-based group health insurance provider Loop Health goes beyond a regular insurer and enables its clients to access medical advice and help with just a few clicks.

The startup was launched in 2019 by Mayank Kale, Amrit Singh, Ryan Singh and Shami Raj, after the team observed how India’s healthcare system suffered due to unethical practices which often put patients’ at the mercy of medical professionals.

The group health insurance provider offers customised coverage to its clients and enables them to connect with qualified doctors via its app. The patient can contact a doctor over a phone call or video call 24×7 within just 30 minutes.

A team of 10 in-house doctors and 100 specialists offer virtual consultations and then recommend treatment. In case the person needs to be hospitalised, the doctors send them to the closest cashless hospital that Loop Health has partnered with.

What stands out about its business model is that the onus of ensuring that people stay healthy falls on Loop Health and its team. The approach improves patient outcomes by ensuring that medical conditions are diagnosed early on and its patients get the best of medical treatment on time.

“Our number one priority is to bring the focus back to the employee. People want a better healthcare experience. When they feel sick, they want to be able to call someone they can trust. That’s what we’re building.” says Mayank Kale, CEO, Loop Health

Countering the COVID-19 crisis

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Loop Health has been making strides with an aim to improve the healthcare delivery model in the country through better services that reach clients even if they are sitting in the remotest part of the country.

Amidst the scramble for hospital beds and COVID-19 tests, Loop Health has been helping its clients get hospitalised if they’re diagnosed with the disease and get themselves tested for novel coronavirus.

Employers can get their staff vaccinated against COVID-19 by booking appointments at any of Loop Health’s partner hospitals. The startup has collaborated with online pharmacy 1mg to facilitate the vaccination appointments booked by its clients, as per the availability of the vaccines. Currently, the facility is available at 1mg’s partner hospitals in Pune, Mumbai, New Delhi and Bengaluru.

The team organised vaccine drives for its client companies and their families across Pune in March. In the drive, Loop Health members could book appointments at its partner hospitals, so they didn’t have to wait a lot. They could also consult its doctors before getting vaccinated and for medical advice in case they experience any side effects.

Talking about how the startup is helping its clients during the crisis, Ryan Singh,

COO, Loop Health, says, “Our medical advisors are assisting clients in finding hospital beds, consulting doctors and checking on people quarantining at home to ensure that they are safe and stable. Meanwhile, our insurance team has been busy finding hospital beds and assisting people with insurance claims. We have also launched special COVID-19 policies to ensure that more and more employees are shielded against the impact of medical emergencies related to COVID-19.”

For a healthy body and a calm mind

The Loop Health team believes that good health has got a lot to do with not just your body, but the mind as well. Its wellness programmes include yoga sessions for stress management, meditation sessions to help people with clinical anxiety and personalised care for patients with pre-existing conditions like hypertension and diabetes.

Observing how more and more people were experiencing mental health issues during the pandemic, the startup introduced a range of initiatives that could help its clients cope up with the stress. For starters, Loop Health conducted a series of webinars for its client companies where doctors working at COVID-19 hospitals educated people about vaccinations, precautions they should take and how they could boost their immunity levels.

“The sessions were amazing because they allowed a large number of people to get access to credible advice from doctors, while getting a chance to openly discuss their fears about vaccines, post-COVID-19 symptoms and other queries,” explains Mayank Kale, CEO, Loop Health.

The Loop Health team also launched a special project for one of their client companies, where they curated a ‘home quarantine kit’ to cater to the medical needs of a person who was isolated at home. The kit included medicines and monitoring devices like oximeters, thermometers and spirometers to help employees recover faster. “If an employee of the company tested positive for COVID-19, they would receive a ‘home quarantine kit’ at home along with a comprehensive care plan which included two scheduled consults with a Loop Health doctor, daily check-ins with a medical advisor, diet consults to aid their recovery and sessions for emotional wellness to help them and family members cope up with stress,” says Renuka Figueiredo, Operations Lead, Loop Health.

The initiative is among the several envisaged by Loop Health and can go a long way in not just improving patient outcomes, but leading the country’s healthcare sector on the path to transforming its care delivery model.