Dr Reddys, ICICI Lombard partner for pilot launch of cashless digital health solution in India

Hyderabad: SVAAS Wellness Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Dr Reddy's Laboratories Limited and ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company Limited have recently announced a partnership for the pilot launch of a first-of-its-kind cashless outpatient offering in India.

The partnership marks the launch of Dr Reddy's digital health solution 'SVAAS' and demonstrates ICICI Lombard's deeper foray into the wellness space.

For Dr. Reddy's, it will bring together four key touch points in the journey of outpatient healthcare and wellness - doctor consultations, pathology laboratories and diagnostic services, pharmacies, and insurance - through various suitable collaborations. For ICICI Lombard, it will enable it to offer its wellness solutions through its comprehensive IL TakeCare app to a larger set of healthconscious consumers.

To start with, these services will be provided in the cities of Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam. It will be scaled up to key metros and tier 1 cities in the coming months. As part of the pilot, these holistic offerings will be available through ICICI Lombard's unique wellness and insurance related app, IL TakeCare.

The partnership combines the core strengths of SVAAS in the form of extensive healthcare professional networks with the established insurance and wellness-oriented solutions of ICICI Lombard. Users will benefit from cashless access to consultation from leading doctors and healthcare professionals across specialisations and geographies, pathology laboratories and diagnostic services, pharmacies, and a comprehensive support centre, all on a simple, easily accessible mobile platform. It offers options of in-person as well as remote tele/video consultations, home sample collections and medicine deliveries, digital health record management and a comprehensive support and fulfilment system.

M.V. Ramana, CEO - Branded Markets (India & Emerging Markets), Dr Reddy's said: "The current pandemic has strongly underscored the importance of digital healthcare services. While telemedicine has picked up pace in India in recent times, there is a growing need for high-quality outpatient care that is holistic, credible and addresses concerns around user experience. Users continue to grapple with issues such as reliability, access, high cost, out-of-pocket expenses, payment procedures, and difficulty in navigating the fragmented nature of the landscape. Through our initiative called 'SVAAS'-meaning 'breath'-we will endeavour to go beyond traditional pharmaceutical offerings and provide a comprehensive but simplified healthcare solution to people in managing their healthcare needs. We are delighted to commence SVAAS as a pilot with a seasoned and experienced partner in ICICI Lombard. Beyond the pilot, we will aim to use our own SVAAS digital platform and work with multiple established partners. In keeping with our brand belief of 'Good Health Can't Wait', we see SVAAS as meeting a genuine unmet patient need through assurance of quality and credibility, ease of use, and comprehensive support consequently resulting in higher adherence. We believe SVAAS has the potential to expand further into health and wellness, and eventually cover the healthcare ecosystem."

Alok Agarwal, Executive Director, ICICI Lombard said: "At ICICI Lombard, we continuously endeavour to add value to our customers throughout their relationship with us, thereby consistently demonstrating our brand ethos of 'Nibhaye Vaade'. For health insurance customers, this means not just providing them with the most efficient claim settlement experience. It goes further ahead by handholding them in their journey to stay healthy and fit. To do so, we have introduced convenient solutions like 'ILTakeCare' a comprehensive, wellness and insurance-oriented app that offers multiple benefits to customers in a contactless way and at their fingertips. We are delighted to partner with Dr Reddy's Laboratories for this unique initiative, starting with the South markets of Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam. Customers in these locations would be able to get their needs pertaining to doctor consultation, diagnostics, and pharmacy addressed conveniently through our IL TakeCare app. Add to this, the vast network of SVAAS that will be of immense associated value to customers."