Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. THE Premier Service Medical Aid Society (PSMAS) has undergone massive rebranding over the past few years in its quest to maintain its position as an industry torch bearer. NewZimbabwe.com (NZ) this week caught up with PSMAS Managing Director, Dr Nixjoen (NM) Mapesa at the PSMAS ZITF stand as they exhibit their recent innovations. They are also showcasing their new brand. Below are the excerpts from the interview:
NZ: Who is PSMAS?
NM:
Premier Service Medical Aid Society (PSMAS,) is Zimbabwe’s largest private medical aid society in Zimbabwe, with a market share of approximately 70% of the medically insured market. What is now known as Premier Service Medical Aid Society, was founded as the Public Service Medical Aid Society in 1930 and it continues to grow from branch to branch. Today the Society has 17 branches nationwide, with a presence in every province and covers over 950 000 members. We continue the journey that was begun over 90 years ago and look forward to taking it for another 90 years and beyond.
NZ: What was the key motivation for rebranding?
NM:
Our key motivation for the changes was the need to address our stakeholders’ pain areas and to be responsive to changing business environment and emerging global trends. We have been a part of the national healthcare fabric since 1930 and we have evolved like all responsive and alert institutions should. Key among these identified pain areas were the following:
Card rejection, which has been a major issue for our members as the environment changed around us.
Failure to access to healthcare & medication, to ensure that membership realized value and was relevant
Increased out of pocket expenditure, particularly in a time of depressed incomes and high costs.
With this in mind we made a decision to transform the organisation from the inside out.
Our key focus areas were to:Ensure that our service offering meets best practice and is competitive on local, regional & global markets, Build resilience to evolving risk landscape and emergence of new types of risks e.g. pandemics. Covid-19 stands as a powerful example of a risk that caught the whole world napping.
Boost processing efficiency and enable real time payment and processing through automation
Meet and surpass the increased demand for more personalized services and digitalization
NZ: What difference has PSMAS made with this rebranding exercise?
NM:
The work that has gone on behind the scenes, gives us confidence that this rebrand will show a new level of service delivery. We have revolutionized our digital presence through introduction of a Mobile Application, our members can now download the PSMAS 24/7 Mobile App via Google Play Store. We have also introduced a Contact Centre system, with multiple functionalities that enables our different stakeholders to get in touch with us from anywhere in the world and at anytime and get responses in the shortest possible timeframe.
We also have a biometric member registration and claim switching platform and a payment gateway system featuring various payment platforms such as EcoCash, Visa, MasterCard and Zimswitch.
In the past few months, we also launched various programmes, which include the Chronic Medicines and Vaccination programs. We are rolling these out in partnership with our largest healthcare service provider, PSMI. The vaccination programme is currently running in Harare, Marondera and Mutare. Plans are underway to expand to other branches to ensure all our members have access to a hustle free vaccination.
The Chronic Medicine Programme, started on 1 September 2021 and to date, thousands of our members with chronic illnesses have registered to benefit under this programme.
Again, registrations are currently running at PSMAS branches dotted across the country as well as PSMI facilities. If you are a PSMAS member and have not yet registered, please walk in to any of these facilities and register to get your medicines delivered at a place of choice. The team is also registering for this programme at the ZITF stand. All you need is your recent prescription, membership card and national identity to enrol.
Lastly, but not least, the Society is in the process of reviewing its product offerings. This process will come with added benefits to your plans and this has been done to address some of our members’ pain points. Detailed information on this initiative will be communicated with our members in due course.
So these are some of the milestones the Society has achieved through its rebranding exercise. As we continue to remodel our offerings, we also invite our stakeholders to give us their input and feedback into how we can ation give them a better experience. Please fill in your feedback at our ZITF stand or get in touch through our various social media platforms.
NZ: How does PSMAS ZITF theme fit into this year’s global ZITF theme?
NM:
This year’s ZITF is running under the theme ‘showcasing the new normal for business and industry, realities and opportunities. PSMAS has recently rebranded to suit the new normal in doing business by introducing various digital platforms, which include the Mobile App, a Contact Centre, a new interactive website and biometric member registration. The Covid-19 pandemic has changed the way we do business and as PSMAS we have seen it fit to adapt to the changing times. We have transformed and revolutionized our platforms and members can now conveniently access our services from the comfort of their home.
NZ: Your parting note
NM:
Well, I do not want to say much for the proof of the pudding is in the eating. We want to hear from our stakeholders, what their experiences has been with us so far. As we highlighted during our launch in June, we view this as a transformation journey and we therefore are not yet where we want to be, but with the feedback and support of our stakeholders, we are confident that we will be the Medical Aid Society that all economic and social sectors of this economy will need to cover them.
