Bive

Context

Two-thirds of Colombians are either covered by a public health system marred with long waiting times and poor quality of care, or not covered at all

• Patients are reluctant to seek medical attention when they face a health problem, increasing the likelihood that their symptoms will become more serious over time
• Many doctors chose to avoid the poorly paid public system and set up private offices where they charge higher fees but struggle to attract clients. This excess capacity remains out of reach for poor Colombians

Solution

• Bive sells a ~USD 35 annual membership card to low income families that provides them access to the private system with large (up to 70% discounts) and guaranteed maximum waiting times (10 days)
• Private doctors in the Bive network received increased patient volume who pay in cash
• Bive records detailed patient data, enabling them to provide value-adding services such as educational text-messages and referrals to other well-being institutions for vulnerable populations

Impact depth

Bive provides low-income families quality and timely access to primary care, avoiding future complications that may result from their medical condition or disease. A quick and straight-forward booking system reduces the lost wages that would have otherwise occurred in the time consuming and bureaucratic public system.

Bive provides

• Timely access to health care: Users can receive professional advice in less than 10 days, preventing medical conditions from getting more complicated
• Affordability of quality health care: Users access a network of well-trained and reliable medical providers with discounts of up to 70%