Roxanne turns smart health choices into rewards by acting on her Personal Health Pathways' recommendations

Since Roxanne Coetzer, 42, began engaging in Personal Health Pathways, managing her health has become simpler and more rewarding.

"Earning money into my Personal Health Fund is a huge motivator," says Roxanne, who is on a medical aid plan option with a small Medical Savings Account (MSA). "My MSA usually runs out halfway through the year, so when I saw I was earning funds that I could use like I do my MSA, simply for completing my recommended actions through Personal Health Pathways, it really encouraged me to keep going."

Since activating her Pathway, Roxanne has completed several of her personalised recommended actions. One of these was a nudge to do her annual Health Check, during which the nurse flagged that her cholesterol was at the higher end of the healthy range.

"I wouldn't have known about my cholesterol if I hadn't gone for my Health Check. And, I wouldn't have gone for the Health Check had this not been a recommended action in my pathway. I'm now eating more healthily, by excluding unhealthy fats from my diet and eating more vegetables, fruits and lean meats, to try make sure my cholesterol doesn't creep up. Thankfully all my other health markers looked good, so now I have a baseline for my health for 2025, and we can compare the results of my next Health Check to that."

Roxanne also saw her GP and dentist, went for a mammogram, and completed the mental health questionnaire on the Discovery Health app. All of these were recommended actions - and all helped her earn funds into her Personal Health Fund.

"I've used the funds to cover prescription and over-the-counter medicine, and even a few doctors' appointments. I've also earned Dischem vouchers along the way, which save me money on essential items."

Personal Health Pathways is personalised and easy to use

"Overall, I think Personal Health Pathways is great. It gives you personalised reminders for checks you may not even realise you're due for - or the ones you tend to put off."

"This platform is so easy to use, and I've even helped some of my colleagues to download the Discovery Health app and activate and start using their Personal Health Pathways. They've now started completing their recommended actions too."

For Roxanne, it all comes down to simple, achievable steps - and the added motivation of earning rewards. "I love that I'm looking after my health and seeing tangible benefits at the same time. It's definitely worth it. I also love that long-term I am developing the right healthy habits for me."

What is Personal Health Pathways?

Personal Health Pathways is a free tool available to adult DHMS members via the Discovery Health app. It provides personalised, real-time health recommendations based on each member's unique profile. As a member's health journey evolves, so does their pathway, continuously updating based on their specific health status, risk profile and engagement patterns and dynamically adjusting as new health data become available.

Personal Health Pathways combines artificial intelligence, predictive analytics and behavioural science. The platform uses more than 50 million life years of health claims and clinical data, along with nearly 30 million life years of exercise and lifestyle data gathered through Vitality in South Africa, to recommend actions that have the greatest potential to improve health outcomes.

Members earn rewards for engaging, including shopping vouchers, Ðiscovery Miles and instant rewards. Those Scheme members who are also Vitality members earn personalised rewards through Personal Health Pathways in addition to their Vitality rewards.

Then, each Personal Health Pathways cycle provides up to two clinical actions and one weekly exercise goal, which must be completed by a set date. Members can earn up to R500 into a new Personal Health Fund for each completed action, up to a maximum of R10,000. The money that is accumulated in the Personal Health Fund can be used for day-to-day medical expenses, including GP and specialist consultations, medicine, radiology and pathology.