THE Great Eastern Clinic, which opened last month, is the ideal one-stop medical centre for medical examinations on prospective clients for insurance underwriting.
The clinic, located on the second floor of the Great Eastern Mall, has all the necessary medical equipment needed to perform the long medical examination required by the Underwriting Department of Great Eastern.
In the interview with Dr. Azlan, GE’s Medical Manager, “The in-house clinic is not a new concept. Several of our competitors readily offer the same facility at their head office premise. We have long recognized the fact that at doing medical examinations might not be an easy task. Firstly the agent has to find a panel and ensures that the designated doctor is available. Their clients have to then queue up with other of the clinic patients before the medical is done. On occasions the agent may also need to fork out their own money to pay for the doctor’s charges. In addition, abnormalities may result in the agent having to convince the client to go for further tests or a repeat medical. These problems will be removed at the new head office clinic or better known as The Medical Services Department.”
The clinic, the brainchild of the CEO, Mr. Alex Foong, is situated at the Second Level of the Great Eastern Mall. The clinic is equipped to be an upper-end outpatient centre delivering the necessary medical requirements of underwriting.
In addition to having their medical done, value added health tests such as Fat Analysis, Bone Scan and BP screening is provided at no extra cost. “We realize that people nowadays are very health conscious. By offering these tests free, we hope that the clients appreciate the ‘soft touches’ that emphasizes Great Eastern’s commitment to overall health and well -being. While visiting the clinic the agents can take opportunity to show their clients Menara Great Eastern, a testimony of the company’s presence in the life insurance industry”.
What are the benefits of performing medicals at the Great Eastern Medical Department? In addition to the benefits mentioned above, the cases are given preference in terms of:
1. One-stop centre Most tests are done in-house, hence faster results of tests achieved. In addition abnormal tests results such as irregular urine, poor ECG tracings etc. can be repeated immediately without having to repeat the tests another day.
2. At-point underwriting Any irregularities or queries will be communicated directly with the underwriting department so that all necessary tests are called for at that specific time. In other words, no further requirements will be asked once the client leaves the clinic.
What about more elaborate tests? “We have worked out an arrangement with Gleneagles for some of these tests. For clients needing X-rays, the agent can present the SLQ form to the Medical Services Department counter and a special letter will be issued so that the clients can proceed to Gleneagles for the X-rays before doing the medicals.
By January next year, even Stress Test ECG will be available in-house and the agents don’t have to look high and low for this test requirement.” adds Dr. Azlan. How can I bring my clients for medical examination? It is advised to call for an appointment as there may be some specific instructions to the client especially if he/she has an underlying disease e.g. diabetes.
If the client has an existing medical or surgical history, it is best to bring along any available medical reports, test results or imaging films in order to ensure “one-stop” underwriting.
Do I have to pay anything?
No. All procedures and services offered do not require any payment on behalf of the agent or client.
