We look back on some of the new initiatives and changes in 2021 that helped us make a difference for our customers and community and deliver on our purpose of Better Health for Better Lives.
My Home Hospital
The launch of My Home Hospital, which has provided hospital-level care to more than 1,600 patients in their homes in South Australia to date, is a standout. Delivered on behalf of Wellbeing SA and created in partnership with Calvary, the technology solution developed for the service was the first of its kind and delivered in a matter of weeks. We continue to build on the initial concept as the service grows and expands into new clinical categories. And the fact that the same technology stack was tweaked and enhanced to support our COVID support programs later in the year is testament that we’ve built something for the long haul.
Supporting our customers through COVID
From the very beginning of the COVID pandemic we’ve been focused on supporting our customers. This continued in 2021, with our financial support reaching a new record level of around $300 million. We provided a range of health and wellbeing programs for our customers throughout the year and supported the nation-wide vaccination drive – with customers rewarded with Live Better points for getting the jab. Our retail teams continued to support customers despite lockdowns in different parts of the country. When stores had temporarily close, they were redeployed across other customer support channels including our phone and digital network.
Being part of the COVID response of Federal and State governments and the broader public health system
We provided support in the form of contact tracing, phone support lines, welfare checks and in-home COVID testing. Our team continues to do a fantastic job supporting the community through the COVID Care at Home program which we deliver with Calvary. Together we have supported more than 14,000 COVID-positive patients in their homes in NSW and VIC through assessments, telehealth support or remote care monitoring.
Better Minds for mental health
We launched our Better Minds hub and app to help our customers manage their mental health, supporting them to seek early help and take steps to improve their health and wellbeing. The hub provides information and resources on mental health and related services, a phone support line for customers to get advice, and counselling to help them deal with mental health issues that they (or their loved ones) are experiencing. The app that guides customer through a self-assessment and then provides digital and phone-based coaching.
Extras the way you want them
We debuted our most flexible extras products, launching Medibank’s My Choice Extras and ahm’s Choosable Extras. Both products give customers the option to design a product to match their needs and let them choose how they use their limits across a number of health services. And this was all built off the back of feedback from customers who told us they wanted more choice, control and even greater value from their extras.
Supporting preventive healthcare in the community
In August we launched an online GP service for international students, giving them access to GPs in a variety of languages through their Medibank or ahm Overseas Student Health Cover app. This removes the unnecessary stress of going to hospital when they could see a GP instead. We also invested in the Myhealth Medical Group. The care that GPs deliver to their patients has a positive flow on effect to every part of the health system and we want to support the work they do. And we rewarded customers with Live Better points for taking preventative health actions by checking their blood pressure and doing a skin check.
Partnering with doctors to expand the short-stay model of care
This year we expanded our no-gap joint replacement pilot program to hospitals across Australia, making it accessible to more than half a million Medibank customers. We also announced a partnership with more than 45 specialist doctors to develop a new short-stay surgical facility in Melbourne. This is an investment in the experience of patients, in the affordability of healthcare, and in the long-term sustainability of the health system. We continue to work with doctors and providers so that together we can give patients more choice in how their care is delivered.
Investing in new ways to support our customers
We enhanced our digital support services with our online chat and messaging options providing more flexibility and convenience for customers. Around 1.3 million Medibank customers are now registered for a digital account and their interactions through self-serve channels continue to grow. We also launched our Apple digital membership card, part of a world-first launch of digital contactless health insurance cards.
Delivering on our sustainability commitments
Our sustainability report highlights the ways we’re seeking to make a positive impact on the world around us. We continued to make good process in managing our environmental, social and governance (ESG) responsibilities. It’s important that our reporting is transparent and balanced and we continually look at to ensure we maintain trust with our customers, shareholders and the broader community. Reporting to 4th edition of the Corporate Governance Principles for the first time was a great opportunity to show our ongoing progress in this area.
Net Zero in our sights
We committed to Net Zero by 2050 and completed a climate scenario analysis to look at the risks and opportunities of climate change on our business. Our ongoing energy reduction efforts and progressive switch to renewables will likely see us achieve Net Zero for Scope 1 and 2 by 2025. While the timeframe for Scope 3 will be longer given the complexity of reducing emissions in our broader value chain, we will be actively seeking opportunities to accelerate the process and bring forward our Net Zero goal.
Working future fit
We progressed our approach to flexibility even further this year by moving to a way of working where the type of work now determines where we work. Our people have really welcomed the choice that comes with this and the positive impacts from being able to balance their work with the other parts of their life.