It has been more than 7 months already that various stay-at-home measures were implemented to help reduce transmission of COVID-19. Though a necessary and justifiable act, the prolonged confinement may also foster additional tension and mental stress, further made irritable by uncertainties related to health, security and employment, among others.
Thus, it is now necessary to address these possible mental health concerns that arose during this pandemic, and should not be ignored at all.
So PhilCare partnered with MyGolana, an advanced mental wellness platform developed by a Silicon Valley start-up with offices in Manila, as part of its commitment to address Filipinos’ mental health needs.
MyGolana operates a dynamic and responsive mobile and tele-counselling platform that addresses mental health concerns. This has been integrated into PhilCare’s HeyPhil app to help expand access to mental wellness and counselling services in the country. MyGolana recently won as Best Healthtech Startup at the WILDFIRE Pitch competition during IGNITE 2020, an international innovation conference.
The partnership will then be called HeyPhil Mind Care. Now on its soft launch, mental wellness services are made available on the HeyPhil app, wherein PhilCare members will receive various mental wellness services, including online mental health tracking, free reporting, and instant booking of qualified and experienced counselors.
PhilCare members who may want to avail of the services under HeyPhil Mind Care would undergo initial intake and assessment. Appropriate counselors will then be ready to do counselling and/or consultations with their respective patients. Should a more intensive and in-person psychological and psychiatric treatment be required, the member shall be referred to Philcare’s pool of accredited psychologists and psychiatrists.
Even non-PhilCare members may soon enjoy HeyPhil Mind Care services through a prepaid health plan. For just Php1,000, those 18 years old and above can avail of one 50-minute professional counselling session with a licensed Mind Care counselor through HeyPhil app. The plan also covers a one-time teleconsultation with a family medicine or internal medicine specialist, or a general practitioner.
HeyPhil can be downloaded on Google Play and the App Store.
“Our goal has always been to help provide total wellness for our fellow Filipinos, especially during this pandemic, wherein people’s movements and activities have been really limited. By offering solutions like HeyPhil Mind Care, we look forward to giving mental health patients more opportunities for their concerns to be addressed, especially through these tough times,” said PhilCare President and CEO Jaeger Tanco.
For his part, MyGolana founder and CEO Lawrence Wang said PhilCare has always been recognized as one of the leading innovators in the HMO industry. “MyGolana is therefore proud to partner with PhilCare on its new HeyPhil Mind Care program, which will continue their record of offering the most advanced and user-friendly telemedicine tools.”
To complement the launch of HeyPhil Mind Care, PhilCare has also organized the Mind Care Webinar Series on all Wednesdays of October at 4PM live on PhilCare’s Facebook page. The topics include assisting children with online learning, dealing with work-from-home burnout, and practicing safe coping mechanisms. All of the webinars are free.