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From left: General Manager Marketing and Business Development Nishantha Jayamanna, Prof. Vajira Dissanayake University of Colombo, Hemas Hospitals and Laboratory Chain Managing Director Dr. Lakith Peiris, and Hemas Holdings Chief Digital Officer Chandima Cooray
The first and only hospital chain in Sri Lanka to have been accredited by the Australian Council on Healthcare Standards (ACHSI), Hemas Hospitals sparked a revolution in digitally-enabled healthcare in Sri Lanka with the launch of the Hemas Health mobile app.
Available for download on Android and iOS, the Hemas Health app is designed to serve as a comprehensive integrated health and wellness platform that provides users with convenient and direct access to healthcare services offered by Hemas Hospitals in addition to a plethora of wellness services and products.
“Digitally enabled healthcare and wellness has rapidly evolved beyond a global trend in the healthcare landscape – particularly in more advanced economies. We believe that emerging economies like Sri Lanka too can benefit from these technological advancements, particularly given the fact that we have over 6.71 million active internet users in the country. Of these, six million are active on social media, with 92% of them accessing these platforms through mobile phones.
“These conditions have created the ideal environment for Hemas Hospitals to take its maiden steps in the journey to become Sri Lanka’s first truly smart hospital. We believe that our expansion into the digital sphere is an important milestone in our path to becoming Sri Lanka’s most prominent healthcare service provider to deliver superior customer experiences and clinical outcomes, backed by digital innovations,” Hemas Hospital and Laboratory Chain Managing Director Dr. Lakith Pieris.
The app offers users direct access to a wide range of healthcare services including direct access to doctors and specialists at Hemas Hospitals through the Channel a Doctor feature.
Unique healthcare facilities such as TeleMedicine and TelePhysio facilitate video consultations and therapy sessions between doctors at Hemas Hospital and patients situated at any location in the country or even the world. Embedded with an EMR (Electronic Medical Record) system, the digital platforms offer doctors the opportunity to maintain patient records record and allow patients to send in pictures of prescriptions and previous records.
Users also have access to lab reports instantly through the Lab Report feature which also compounds health data and maintains a bank of the user’s health reports and has the ability to transfer said reports to doctors and other healthcare professionals.
Users can also connect directly with specialists from numerous disciplines in addition to wellness specialties such as fitness instructors through the Ask a Doctor feature. Additionally, the Online Pharmacy also offers users in Colombo and Gampaha Districts the option of delivery for prescriptions uploaded to the app.
“The mobile app was designed with the intention of not only linking users directly to the healthcare services offered by Hemas Hospitals but also to promote a healthy lifestyle among our growing user base through the availability of wellness services and products. As a responsible corporate citizen and leading healthcare service provider we believe that it is our responsibility to promote wellness and provide accessibility to all citizens to quality healthcare services,” Dr. Pieris elaborated.
Doubling as a wellness app, Hemas Health when connected to a user’s Fitbit keeps a clear record of their health conditions. The product is one of many available within the online store of the app in addition to subscriptions to wellness related programs such as those for weight loss, dieting and fitness.
Finally, the blog space provides users with a platform on which to share health and fitness goals and partake in challenges set out by Hemas Health.
The app is on track to be further developed with the addition of new features such as LiveTrack, in addition to a comprehensive platform for expectant mothers to track their pregnancy with easy access to healthcare professionals. A loyalty program will also be introduced for the app, allowing users to utilise their points to purchase programs and products from the store.
Hemas Health is powered by Digital Health Solutions Ltd., Sri Lanka’s premier digital health solutions provider which grants its subscribers the ability to retrieve health services through digital platforms.
First established in 2008 with the launch of its pioneering facility in Wattala, followed by a second facility in Thalawathugoda, Hemas Hospitals is one of the most advanced hospital chains in Sri Lanka. It is currently aiming to expand its operations into super-speciality medical and healthcare through the addition of further state-of-the-art facilities aimed at providing an international standard of healthcare at an affordable cost for all Sri Lankans. The organisation provides a wide array of surgical and medical specialties and has established an island-wide network of clinical laboratories.