Global Workforce COVID-19 Employee Symptom Checking
As the world plans to reopen, multinational employers are asking how they can support their employees with COVID-19 symptom checking so employees can return to work safely. This is done in a myriad of ways from apps, to telemedicine, to hotlines and even on-site support. See a sampling of approaches below.
Brazil
COVID-19 symptom checking services are part of the healthcare systems both private and public. Using hotline and telemedicine services is the preferred way to have symptoms checked. See Brazil’s COVID-19 symptom checking platforms and services.
Canada
In Canada COVID-19 onsite pre-screening can be done by a service called Lifemark. The company also has telephonic and web-based nursing services available.
Self-screening can be done on a free app from Dialogue which can support employees in any Canadian territory.
Another symptom checker service is from Medcan. The full program costs $100k with a one-year contract that includes all five parts of the Medcan program. You cannot pick and choose parts of the program. Medcan has a separate medical advisory component that includes on-site evaluations. This is offered on a stand-alone basis for a $50k retainer.
France
Telemedicine is the primary way employees get symptoms checked and it can be done two ways. The first is through a hired assistance company and a doctor or nurse take the calls/video calls and give advice, medical diagnoses and prescriptions. The second is an online platform that lets employees book general practitioners and specialty doctors. Mesdocteurs and medecindirect are primary examples. Others have mushroomed recently such as Qare or bonjourdocteur. All platforms are referenced on the French government website.
Germany
Employers generally do not have involvement in an employee’s healthcare situation except to support them via the statutory policies around sick leave, for example. Tools employees can use to check their symptoms would be through their health insurance website, or via the ministry of health, which drives the message on the Coronavirus publicly.
India
The central government’s symptom checker app, Aroya Setu, which must be downloaded before people return to the office, is not without controversy. The penalty for not downloading the app is a 6-year jail term or a fine of Rs. 1,000.
Ireland
The UK National Health Service in Northern Ireland has COVID-19 symptom checker app, but there is currently nothing similar specific to the Republic of Ireland.
Mexico
The Mexican government has a COVID-19 symptom checker app called 19MX. It has an interactive diagnostic tool that analyses reported symptoms and advises employees if they should get medical care. The app is available via the Mexican iOS and Android stores.
Portugal
The online symptom checkers available locally are all in Portuguese, and they include the symptom checker of Portugal’s official Health Authority, from the health insurer Médis, and from Fidelidade/Multicare, which is only available to their clients.