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The state of an employee’s health is very important for all companies because healthy employees can work optimally in their appointed roles and support a more productive workforce. As more organisations continue to implement Work From Home (WFH) arrangements to curb the spread of COVID-19 at the workplace, more employees are struggling to care for their physical and mental health as the lines between work and home continue to blur.
A published study in the BMC Public Health on the impact of mental and physical health on employees working from home due to COVID-19 showed that there were 10 health outcomes reported, namely pain, self-reported health, safety, well-being, stress, depression, fatigue, quality of life, strain, and happiness. One element that greatly influences the impact on health outcomes is the degree of organizational support available to employees.
One key area which companies can provide to support their employees manage their health more effectively is by utilizing digital health services. Recognising this increasing demand among local organisations, Good Doctor Technology Indonesia (GDTI) has recently announced that they aim to continue collaborating with corporate partners to design customised digital health programs within the Good Doctor app designed to the organisational health priorities of each company they collaborate with.
Good Doctor’s move to collaborate with organisations to increase the accessibility to cutting-edge digital health technologies is also in line with the sixth pillar of the 6 Pillars of Health System Transformation 2021—2024 set by the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Indonesia, which focuses on healthcare technology transformation. By working with more corporate partners, Good Doctor aims to accelerate the adoption of digital health technologies and solutions among employees and empower more Indonesians to make smarter data-driven decisions about their health.
“Super Warrior Wellness Program” is one of the latest holistic health care programs managed by Good Doctor for one of their corporate insurance partner, AXA Financial Indonesia (AFI). This program includes various independent physical and mental health examination instruments, including the availability of online doctor consultations as well as various services from both physical health aspects such as treatment for diabetes, cardiovascular disorders and health issues related to area pollution, musculoskeletal disorders, obesity, addiction to alcohol and cigarettes as well as aspects of mental health.
The benefits of the “Super Warrior Wellness Program” have been personally experienced by Anneke Rombot, an AFI employee, who has joined the health program since its initial launch in April 2021. “This program is very helpful and very useful, especially in this pandemic era where we are worried to go to the doctor/clinic/hospital. In addition, with regular webinars conducted by AXA Financial Indonesia and Good Doctor, it also helps me to get credible information such as how to increase immunity, vaccines and healthy lifestyle and can directly ask the source, other than that we also get useful and timely information by social media, Whatsapp Group and e-mail channels that provide interesting and relevant info with current conditions.”
Managing Director of Good Doctor Technology Indonesia, Danu Wicaksana, said, “We believe that by putting a digital-first health solution in the hands of many, we can supercharge their lives and encourage more Indonesians to become “super warriors” who are committed to prioritising their health by taking proactive steps in caring for themselves holistically. We are already seeing an uptake rate of more than 60% of AXA’s total user group, with over 1000 teleconsultations delivered by our doctors.”
By combining these tools with specialised health programmes and tailoring their approach, Good Doctor intends to collaborate with more corporations across various sectors to equip them with best-in-class health technology and facilitate smart management of their employee’s health and wellness status. To achieve that goal, GDTI is also working closely with Third Party Administrators (TPA) and other major insurance companies in Indonesia.
Through GDTI’s existing collaborations with TPAs, users can use their Outpatient Limit with ease without having to reimburse it later because the payment will be covered by their Outpatient Benefit. GDTI’s B2B team’s internal data shows that between March 2021 to July 2021, they have seen hundreds of new corporates adopting Good Doctor’s digital health services for their employees. With this all-time-high trend, Good Doctor looks forward to continue playing their role in supporting the successful re-opening of the local economy by strengthening the most valuable asset of all companies—their employees.
The digital health management program designed by GDTI for its various partner companies does not necessarily rule out the existing COVID-19 vaccination program. GDTI continues to work closely with various parties to organize a mass vaccination center to make the national vaccination program a success. The success of this program will protect the Indonesian people from COVID-19 as well as break the chain of transmission of this virus.
GDTI has also collaborated with the Depok Transportation Office (Dishub Depok) – Greater Jakarta Transport Authority (BPTJ) and the Health Office to hold a mass vaccination center in Depok for ages 12 and over. The COVID-19 vaccination in commemoration of National Transportation Day has taken place on September 24, 2021.
“This mass vaccination center in Depok is carried out as a continuation of our commitment to assist the Indonesian government, namely the Ministry of Health and the West Java Provincial Government in accelerating national vaccination,” said Danu Wicaksana, Managing Director of GDTI.
The Deputy Mayor of Depok, Imam Budi Hartono, expressed his gratitude for Good Doctor’s participation in today’s event. “Hopefully in the future we can continue to do good to help the people of Depok City in health problems.” According to Imam, “This event is very important because it is related to transportation. Humans who live will definitely make a move. Transportation is part of the human movement.”
Vaccination participants must have registered through the Good Doctor application or the Grab (GrabHealth) application. At the time of registration, they are screened first. Passed the screening, followed by filling incomplete personal data until it obtained the status of “Appointment Confirmed” in the application. This step implemented by GDTI certainly reduces crowds and minimizes cancellations at the location. The implementation of vaccination operations has also become more efficient to support the success of the vaccination program.
The Deputy Mayor of Depok went around the vaccination site and chatted with a boy who was vaccinated. When asked Mr. Imam why do you want to be vaccinated? The boy said, “To prevent COVID.”
Another vaccine participant, a man who has been vaccinated, said, “I don’t feel anything. There’s no need to be afraid. It’s important for health.”
There is another convenience that GRAB provides to vaccination participants, namely “Discount Promo” to go to the vaccination location. Vaccination participants who use Grabcar and Grabbike services can enter the code: LAWANCOVID on their application. This event is also supported by Redoxon, MDG and VivaDiag.
Danu said, “On behalf of Good Doctor, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the Mayor of Depok, Deputy Mayor of Depok and all levels of the Depok City government along with the health office, transportation service, and all parties for the support provided so that this event ran smoothly. We hope that our cooperation can continue in the future so that vaccinations can be accelerated and economic life can quickly recover.”
Managing Director of Good Doctor Technology Indonesia, Danu Wicaksana
Everything that GDTI does—both digital health management and mass vaccination centers—is aimed at continuing to provide the best and most trusted quality health services for the people of Indonesia. A healthy society increased productivity, the economy rose.
Listen to Your Heart and Talk to the Doctor, Before You Fall Sick
With the increased cases of Indonesians living with chronic diseases due to sedentary lifestyles, poor management of stress, and unhealthy diets, doctors from Good Doctor Technology Indonesia (GDTI), urge people to take a preventative approach by adopting smart digital health technologies that are built to help keep your mental and physical health in check. In commemoration of World Heart Day on 29th September, Good Doctor recognizes that heart disease is one of the leading causes of death in Indonesia, and cautions young Indonesians to pay attention to their heart health from a young age.
Based on data from Indonesia Basic Health Research (Riskesdas) in 2018, the incidence of heart and blood vessel disease is increasing from year to year. At least 15 out of 1000 people, or about 2,784,064 individuals in Indonesia suffer from heart disease, resulting in coronary heart disease as one of the highest cause of death in Indonesia. In fact, one in 10 Indonesians dies from this disease (@KemenkesRI).
As heart disease is classified as a non-communicable disease (NCD) which is deemed incurable once diagnosed, research conducted by the Health Research and Development Agency of the Indonesian Ministry of Health shows that the development of NCD in Indonesia is increasingly worrying. In the past, this disease was commonly associated with the elderly group, however, it is now starting to threaten the younger age group too. Based on Riskesdas 2013, the prevalence of coronary heart disease and heart failure in the productive age group (15-64 years) is 3.33%. Meanwhile, Riskesdas 2018 showed the prevalence of heart disease in the same age group reached 9.1%.
From a population health perspective, the high rates of heart disease sufferers also increase the country’s overall health costs. Data from the Health Social Security Administration (BPJS Kesehatan) shows an increase in health costs for heart disease from year to year. In 2014, heart disease cost BPJS Kesehatan Rp 4.4 trillion, which then increased to 7.4 trillion in 2016, and further continued to increase in 2018, amounting to Rp 9.3 trillion
If this condition continues, it will have a major impact on human resources (HR) and the Indonesian economy in the future. This worrying trend threatens to increase, especially amid COVID-19.
Reporting from gooddoctor.co.id and based on research from the University of London and the Radcliffe Department of Medicine of the University of Oxford, people with healthier heart structure and function appear to have better cognitive abilities. This includes having an increased capacity for solving logic problems and faster reaction times.
Why do young people get heart disease?
The primary reason is due to an unhealthy lifestyle. Starting from eating unhealthy foods, drinking alcohol, smoking, lack of physical activity to depression. According to 2018 Indonesia Basic Health Research (Riskesdas) data, it showed that 95.5% of Indonesians consume less vegetables and fruit; 33.5% of people lack physical activity; 29.3% of the productive age population smokes every day; 31% were centrally obese and 21.8% were obese in adults.
What should we do?
Be a super health warrior and do not wait to fall sick before consulting with a doctor.
Good Doctor Technology Indonesia B2B team internal data showed, “Previously, people are using our services only when they are sick or are experiencing worrying symptoms. However, this trends seem to be changing with around 10 times increment in educational type of chat in the past 3 months of 2021.”
Seeing this development, GDTI increased the relevance of digital health services among the Indonesian people by launching the “Super Warrior Program” to AXA Financial Indonesia (AFI). This tailor-made wellness program is specifically designed to meet the health priorities of their employees and policyholders.
“Super Warrior” is a complete wellness management feature covering aspects of physical and mental health. Starting from education on various health topics through webinars, implementing a healthy lifestyle, medication to delivering medicine to your home. This program is specially designed to suit the needs of each company. With this program, employees are encouraged to improve their health and avoid unhealthy behavior. Through more of such corporate partnership collaborations, GDTI continues its commitment to play its part to strengthen the health of Indonesians and encouraging Indonesians to take a proactive step in their overall health management.
Don’t Ignore Mental Health!
It is not enough just to be physically healthy, a person’s mental health greatly affects his productivity at work. Mental problems can also interfere with the person’s physical health.
Various restrictions were put in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Children are homeschooled, employees work from home. Every time you leave the house, you must wear a mask. Arriving at the house must immediately perform a ritual of self-cleaning. No more gatherings with friends and relatives. We have felt it since mid-March 2020 and is still going on until now.
As social beings, this condition certainly makes us uncomfortable, we feel depressed. Psychologist Inez Kristanti, M.Psi explained the status of mental health in Indonesia during the COVID-19 pandemic. “A Iskandarsyah, A. (2020, April 29) study with 3,686 respondents from 33 provinces in Indonesia showed that 72% of participants reported experiencing anxiety and 23% of participants reported feeling unhappy.”
Speaking at a recent media event held by Good Doctor Technology Indonesia (GDTI) and AXA Financial Indonesia, Dr Inez explained that the symptoms of anxiety include worrying that something bad will happen, excessive worry, irritability and irritation, and difficulty feeling relaxed. Meanwhile, the reported symptoms of depression include sleep problems, lack of confidence, fatigue, and loss of interest.
It’s not just social restrictions that cause mental health problems. Survivors of COVID-19 also feel this mental disorder. According to dr. Jeffri Aloys Gunawan, Sp.PD from GDTI, “COVID is a disease that has long-term effects. The long-term effects are still being researched until now. There is literature that says that a year after being exposed to COVID-19, almost 50% still feel at least one symptom. Symptoms vary. Symptoms experienced by COVID-19 survivors after 12 months or more are shortness of breath, anxiety, depression, fatigue, and tiredness. For example, a low-intensity exercise that is done only briefly makes you feel tired. Meanwhile, those who have recovered from COVID-19 for 6 months and are still experiencing symptoms are almost 70%.”
This condition is known as Long COVID. “Long COVID-19 is if after four weeks from starting to feel symptoms of COVID-19 until being declared negative, there are still residual symptoms. These symptoms can include shortness of breath, joint pain, muscle pain, cough, diarrhea, loss of smell, and taste,” said dr. Jeff in Good Talk in collaboration with Hippindo, Serviam Vaccination Center, and Personal Growth.
Coronavirus even causes cognitive aspects to decline. According to dr. Jeff, aspects of reasoning and analysis (problem-solving) are the cognitive aspects that are most affected by this disease. “Cognitive impairment will affect the quality of a nation’s human resources, which ultimately affects the outcome of gross domestic product (GDP) of a country. This country’s performance against other countries will be increasingly lagging behind.
A study published in The Lancet in April 2021 found that a third of COVID-19 patients had been diagnosed with neurological or psychological symptoms, including anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and psychosis, within 6 months of contracting COVID-19. “Most of the people who come to us are those with psychosomatic and anxiety disorders,” said dr. Jeff, GDTI’s internal medicine specialist.
Ratih Ibrahim, M.M., Clinical Psychologist, CEO & Founder of Personal Growth and Friends of the Serviam Vaccination Center who is also a COVID survivor admits that fear, horror, paranoia, anxiety (PTSD) will still exist even if we are declared cured.
“Mental health needs to be considered if someone experiences Long COVID-19, especially because they will feel frustrated because the symptoms of the disease are still felt even though they have been declared cured. On the way to recovering from Long COVID-19, patients must understand that this is a process,” said Ratih in Good Talk as part of the Good Talk Series.
To make our mental recover, Ratih gives tips to adopt the following good mental health habits:
• do regular breathing exercises,
• adopt a good exercise regiment,
• eat well,
• adopt good lifestyle habits,
• adopt good sleeping habits.
In addition, there are various relaxation techniques to help deal with stress, namely Shaking Therapy, Ikigai, Butterfly Hug, and Guided Imagery. If anxiety starts to overwhelm you, try one of these relaxation techniques as first aid.
A person with high levels of stress can experience burnout. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the phenomenon of burnout is a syndrome due to chronic stress that has not been successfully managed by every individual. Burnout reduces productivity and drains energy, leaving a person feeling helpless, hopeless, weak, and quick to anger. If you experience this for a long time, it will have an impact on social life, especially work, you are also susceptible to upper respiratory tract disease.
Therefore, we do not need to hesitate to immediately consult an expert. Consultation will help us find the root cause of the stress and get the right therapy.
On the Good Doctor platform, services have been provided for online consultations with doctors and psychologists, so patients do not need to leave their homes and are again at risk of being exposed to the virus.