Mobile health service ‘Tonic’ offers medical and wellness advice
Telenor Health, the digital health unit of Norwegian operator Telenor, launched a mobile health service in Bangladesh, the company said in a statement. Launched through Telenor’s mobile operator Grameenphone, the m-health service, dubbed ‘Tonic,’ is a mobile-based platform providing health information, a health line and medically related financial benefits.
“Health, and particularly digital health, has the potential of becoming an integral part of our development as a robust digital service provider,” said Telenor Group CEO Sigve Brekke.
“We strongly believe the introduction of Tonic into the health care ecosystem will improve health care attitudes and perceptions by allowing everyday people easy access to aspirational information for preventative health, hospital discounts and expert medical advice instantly without prohibitive costs,” added Telenor Health’s Sajid Rahman.
The new service includes Tonic Jibon (life), a Bengali-language service designed to provide free science-backed information on health; Tonic Daktar (doctor), which enables members to access medical advice on basic health topics via phone; Tonic Discounts, which offers discounts up to 40% on services at more than 50 hospitals across Bangladesh; and Tonic Cash, which provides members compensation if they have been hospitalized for three consecutive nights or more – paid directly to a member’s mobile banking wallet.
Telenor said the service is being initially offered to its 57 million subscribers in the Asian nation. The Nordic telco said it plans to launch the Tonic m-health service in additional Asian markets in the future. In Asia, the European telecom firm operates in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Thailand and Myanmar.
