Tonic Discount: Relieving medical expenses
Md Abul Hossain (not a real name) was suffering from immense physical pain for a long time. He had visited a clinic with the hope of long-term remedy, but was instead suggested to visit a bigger hospital to get more detailed tests done. Abul Hossain, the breadwinner of a middle income joint family, decided to let the pain subside and heal by itself. The ongoing treatment of his mother's critical illness meant that a considerable chunk of the family's monthly budget was already being depleted.
The intensity of his pain, however, kept increasing until the day his family members realised that Abul Hossain needed urgent medical attention. Despite realising the significant pressure that would be placed on the family's finances, Abul Hossain's younger brother had no other option but to take him to a tertiary level hospital in Dhaka.
Going through a number of tests like MRI scan, ultrasonography, and blood test at that hospital, brother of Mr Abul Hossain anxiously approached the billing booth to ask if he could receive any concessions on his dues. He was relieved when the staff informed him about Tonic Discount and how becoming a member would get him discount on selected services at the hospital.
As soon as he got to know about Tonic, a free healthcare service provided by GrameenPhone and Telenor Health, brother of Mr Hossain, a longtime mobile user registered for Tonic with the hope of saving money on his brother's medical bills. And it certainly paid off as promised. After paying the bills at that hospital, he was able to walk away saving a substantial amount on that day due to Tonic Discount.
"As soon as I received the benefits of this unique service, I informed my family members about Tonic Discount. This was a very unique and helpful service for us, especially for the middle-class. My family's medical expenses exceed 1 lakh taka every year, and a service like Tonic Discount will cut the cost to a great extent," says the grateful brother of Mr Hossain.
Launched in June 2016 in Bangladesh, Tonic has already made its mark through registering a significant number of members. With its groundbreaking service Tonic Discount, members are saving up cash on medical services in partner hospitals in and outside Dhaka. Tonic Discount cuts down the members' expenses on healthcare services including surgery, bed rates, all kinds of diagnostic, and ambulance services.
"Tonic Discount has been providing a rebate of 10% on some of the services of some hospitals to its members, and in the past two months there have been more than 490 individuals who have availed this discount at those hospitals. Tonic has aptly managed healthcare expenditure on the services such as MRI and CT scan whose costs are relatively higher than other services. This ultimately manages to lower the overall cost for any patient," said Enayet Ullah Khan, Director of Business Development at Apollo Hospitals Dhaka.
To avail discount, Tonic members need to write the code of the partner hospital or diagnostic center they are taking service from and send a SMS to 789. When they show the reply SMS at Tonic Discount concierge, they will be offered up to 40% discount depending on the service they have taken from the healthcare centers.
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