Informed Choices are Healthy Choices

Medix is currently significantly expanding its personal medical case management services to Asia, including Mainland China, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Taiwan, by using Hong Kong as a gateway

In 2006, Belgium-born Sigal Atzmon left a successful career in the financial sector and founded Medix, which provides personal medical case management services to patients, especially those diagnosed with serious illnesses. She explained her mission being to “disrupt the way healthcare is consumed and provided around the world”.

The company currently employs over 300 in-house doctors who look at customers’ cases and make medical recommendations, but they are not involved in actual treatments or surgical procedures in order to maintain objectivity. In addition, Medix maintains ongoing professional relationships with over 3,000 leading specialists and over 1,500 medical facilities in various countries it deems of high-calibre.

Medix serves a client base of over 1.7 million insured customers globally, working in some 90 countries and 20 different languages. It has expanded its company in Hong Kong, which acts as its Asia hub in addition to the two other headquarters in London and Tel Aviv.

“We have been working in Asia for many years, but without a fully operational hub. We look at Hong Kong as the bridge to Asia,” Atzmon said. She cited the city’s openness, transparency, ease of doing business and common law tradition as some of the reasons for making it the company’s headquarters in the region. “I think the work environment is very good and fast-paced; people are very engaged, eager to do business and very hard working.”

Medix employees, especially the researchers in the international research department, spend much of their time studying the healthcare systems and landscapes of different countries and territories, and Atzmon finds that in Hong Kong, sometimes patients tend to want quick solutions, which are not always in their own best interest. That is where Medix’ services can be of help to ensure accessibility and implementation of quality care and to advocate patients’ needs.

“In Hong Kong, most people, if they discover they have a tumour, usually go to see a surgeon. The surgeon might be the best one in Hong Kong, and he would offer to take the tumour out, but that might not be the right first solution for the patient.

“First, one needs to reach a clear diagnosis and then stage the disease. Any patient should go see an oncologist first because maybe you need a process, rather than a quick fix. This has proven to save people’s lives many times Sometimes people tend to underestimate the power of knowledge and the power of a process” Atzmon said. She explained that in a case like this, an oncologists might first recommend treatment that would make the subsequent surgery more effective.

Medix is also in the process of designing a homecare model for Hong Kong, with the aim to reduce time patients spend in the hospital and, thereby, help save medical costs and relieve the burden on public hospitals.

The company has set up an investment platform supporting startups in the digital health space. “Hong Kong is a hub for innovation, attracting startup businesses, innovative ideas and disruptive ideas from all over Southeast Asia. It is exactly the right place for us.”

Medix employs a growing number of staff in Hong Kong which includes doctors, nurses and medical administrators, as well as operational and marketing support teams. It is currently in the process of hiring more people, as the company’s activity is expanding rapidly. Atzmon expects the number to grow to 65 in two years.