What made me start using Personal Health Pathways?

I am 63 and work in IT support. I am a member of Discovery Health Medical Scheme, and I have been using Personal Health Pathways since the platform launched in January 2025.

I always say that I'd rather be the oldest person in the gym than the youngest person at the old-age home. Following the recommendations on my Personal Health Pathways will help me to achieve that.

Since Personal Health Pathways launched, I have completed all of the next best actions - personalised health prompts tailored to my age, risk profile and health history - recommended to me in my Pathway on my Discovery Health app.

What health checks did Personal Health Pathways prompt me to do?

I went for prostate cancer screening and a colorectal cancer screening - both were next best actions recommended by Personal Health Pathways. Honestly, I didn't even realise I should be screened for colorectal cancer at my age. I'm really glad the app made me aware of that as I have had important preventative checks and now have a baseline for where my health was at when I did the checks in 2025.

How does Personal Health Pathways support me to stay physically active?

That weekly goal I need to reach to close my exercise ring on Personal Health Pathways really motivates me to keep moving. I go to the gym four times a week to run and lift weights. And sometimes I do yoga, pilates, and play pickleball too.

I am proud that as of August 2026, I had reached my exercise goal for 200 weeks in a row!

How is Personal Health Pathways helping me build better sleep habits?

I recently activated my Vitality Sleep Rewards, which helps me track my sleep and work towards my personalised weekly sleep goal through Personal Health Pathways on the Discovery Health app.

Having weekly sleep goals has motivated me to build a more consistent sleep routine and I now aim for the same bedtime every night.

Thanks to an improved sleep routine, I feel like I recover more quickly after intense exercise. I also feel less tired during the day, and I can think more clearly.

What is Vitality Sleep Rewards? And why does good sleep matter?

Sleep is an important part of long-term health and wellbeing. Discovery's research, based on more than 47 million sleep records, shows that getting enough quality sleep and keeping a regular sleep routine are linked to better health outcomes, including mental wellbeing, heart health and a lower risk of chronic disease.

Through Personal Health Pathways, every adult Discovery Health Medical Scheme member can track their sleep and receive a nightly Vitality Sleep Score, on the Discovery Health app. The Vitality sleep score combines sleep duration, regularity and quality with Vitality's rich clinical, demographic and lifestyle insights to deliver a personalised, health focused score out of 100.

Members can track their sleep using compatible wearable devices, and later in 2026, those without a wearable can use the new Vitality Sleep Tracker in the Discovery app.

What rewards do I earn for completing my next best actions in Personal Health Pathways?

The rewards I receive for completing the health and physical activity recommendations are really motivating. Over and above the Discovery Miles I earn, I also earn money into my Personal Health Fund, which is really incredible as this means I have extra funds available for everyday medical expenses - just for keeping healthy!

I have used my Personal Health Fund to pay for routine medical expenses, like doctor's appointments, that I would previously have paid for myself.

I treat the Discovery Miles I earn and the funds that go into my Personal Health Fund as cost-savers. I see them as offsetting the cost of my monthly Discovery Health Medical Scheme membership contribution.

Why do I think the Discovery Health app and Personal Health Pathways are so easy to use?

I work in IT support, so I love apps - and the Personal Health Pathways feature on the Discovery Health app is particularly intuitive and easy to use. It's such a smart tool. The health recommendations are tailored to your age and personal risk factors. It's a fantastic way to build awareness around what each person can do to stay on top of their health - and the rewards we earn are a real incentive to stay engaged.

I am so impressed with the benefits, that I have recommended that friends, family and colleagues who are Discovery Health Medical Scheme members activate Personal Health Pathways too.

What is Personal Health Pathways? What is the Personal Health Fund?

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.

Each member's Personal Health Pathways cycle provides up to two clinical actions (which must be completed by a set date, and can be deferred to a later deadline) and one weekly exercise goal (which, for Vitality members, is the same as their weekly Vitality Active Rewards Goal). Members can also choose to take on challenges. Challenges are exciting, goal-driven health journeys (from Better Health Challenges to Move More and Sleep Well challenges which run over a few weeks), each made up of simple, actionable steps, designed to help you build healthy habits and achieve meaningful results.

Members who complete their health actions and achieve their weekly exercise goals earn rewards (through Discovery Health) for engaging, including shopping vouchers, Discovery 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.

Members also earn up to R500 into their Personal Health Fund (through Discovery Health Medical Scheme) for each completed action. The funds accumulated in the Personal Health Fund can be used for day-to-day medical expenses, including GP and specialist consultations, medicine, radiology and pathology. In 2026, you can earn up to R12,000 per policy in the Personal Health Fund, depending on your chosen plan. You can also earn up to R500 for each recommended Personal Health Pathway action you complete, up to a maximum of R3,000 per adult and R1,500 per child.