AfroCentric Group Announces New Digital Wellness Platform

A new digital wellness platform called AMP has been introduced by the JSE-listed firm The AfroCentric Group. It is intended to be integrated into the member apps already used by medical schemes.

According to the firm, AMP is a part of Medscheme’s Integrated Smart Solutions, which puts it one step closer to incorporating data-driven healthcare insights to benefit the members of the schemes it is in charge of governing.

The introduction of AMP coincides with Medscheme’s increased emphasis on the digitalization of healthcare as a way to boost the value of its schemes. Medscheme now sports a redesigned brand to go along with its improved service offering.

Ahmed Banderker, CEO of AfroCentric Group, claims that there are several health issues in South Africa, including that 28 percent of people are medically obese, 30 percent of people smoke, and 38 percent of people do not engage in adequate physical activity to lead a healthy lifestyle.

“In the private healthcare industry, medical scheme members face the brunt of this, with plans being compelled to use millions of members’ carefully prepared financial reserves to treat illnesses related to lifestyle choices. This has an influence on the affordability of medical plans for many people, the capacity to provide all members with rich benefits, and inhibits lower-income workers from entering the medical plan market, according to Banderker.

“The need to assist our members in making better lifestyle decisions, ultimately minimizing the demand for expensive healthcare interventions, served as the impetus for the creation of AMP. The app gives users the resources, knowledge, and inspiration they need to adopt healthy lifestyle changes,” he stated.

In fact, according to preliminary data from AMP’s pilot phase, “more than 80% of our members are strongly motivated to change,” he continued.

AMP leverages advanced gamification, user insights, artificial intelligence, and machine learning to create a totally innovative, holistic approach to wellness that is centered on favorably encouraging and nudging its users, the Group said. AMP is embedded in the existing medical schemes’ apps.

Through agreements with companies like Avo by Nedbank and Panda, a mental wellness platform, among others, AMP also provides members with access to supplemental and value-added services.

“This will enable principal members of our medical schemes to have a better awareness of their health and to access medical aid benefits right from the palm of their hands, as well as the beneficiaries of those medical schemes. We view this as intelligent service that has been amplified,” Banderker added.

“With almost 4 million people under AfroCentric’s care, AMP stands a significant chance of improving South Africans’ general standard of living. The platform is based on the idea that when encouraged, South Africans will rise to the challenge of improving their quality of life together, he added.