Discovery SafeTrip – Pilot
Keeping our young doctors safe on the roads
At the heart of Discovery is our core purpose to make people healthier and to enhance and protect their lives. This core purpose is weaved into our business model and everything we do to guide people to health and life-promoting behaviour, which ultimately leads to a healthier and safer society. An integral part of a healthier society, is having a thriving healthcare system and Discovery is committed to investing in both the private and public healthcare sectors to benefit society as a whole.
Young doctors face many challenges in their working conditions. There are different initiatives aimed at identifying solutions to address challenges, such as working hours and levels of supervision. These solutions, once implemented, will go a long way to make sure interns can perform at their peak.
One challenge which Discovery can address immediately is the interns’ safety on the roads – late night driving and driving when tired are related to higher accident rates. Discovery SafeTrip will give medical interns the option to take a free trip home following a long shift.
Intern doctors who activate this benefit with Discovery will receive free Uber trips from the hospital where they work, up to a maximum amount of R750 per calendar month*. Based on feedback from interns at various hospitals, we expect this amount to cover the majority of trips home post-call during a month using an Uber X.
Interns do not have to be Discovery clients to use this benefit and there are no restrictions on the type of Uber vehicle used - interns can select either Uber X or Uber Black.
*Intern doctors who activate this benefit will be responsible for paying for any trips once the benefit amount has been reached. It will be each individual intern doctor’s responsibility to monitor the rand value of trips from the hospital in a month.
- Groote Schuur Hospital (Cape Town)
- Addington Hospital (Durban)
- Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital (Johannesburg)
- Dora Nginza Hospital (Port Elizabeth)
- Steve Biko Academic Hospital (Pretoria)
The pilot project will gather feedback on the benefit and how it can be enhanced.
To apply, please email a completed application form to discoverysafetrip@discovery.co.za. Alternatively, please email your name, ID number, cell phone number and hospital to discoverysafetrip@discovery.co.za.
Discovery will engage with participants during and after the pilot to understand their views on the benefit and how it could be enhanced.
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Can I apply to participate in the pilot?
If you are a doctor currently performing your internship at any of the five selected hospitals, you can register for this benefit. You do not need to be a Discovery client. The five selected hospitals are Addington Hospital (Durban), Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital (Johannesburg), Dora Nginza Hospital (Port Elizabeth), Groote Schuur Hospital (Cape Town) and Steve Biko Academic Hospital (Pretoria). -
How do I apply to participate in the pilot?
You need to complete the application form found on the Discovery website, and email the form to discoverysafetrip@discovery.co.za. Alternatively, please email your name, ID number, cell phone number and hospital to discoverysafetrip@discovery.co.za. -
How will participants in the pilot be selected?
The first ten individuals to apply that meet the qualifying criteria will be included in the pilot. The remaining 20 places will be decided by a random draw with four interns selected from each of the five hospitals. If following the random draw there are fewer than 30 successful applicants, all of the applicants that were initially unsuccessful will be placed into a second random draw to ensure that up to 30 applicants are selected. -
How will I know when the benefit has been activated?
The benefit may take a few days to activate. If you participate in the pilot, you will receive an SMS or an email once the benefit has been activated. -
Once the benefit has been activated, how does Uber know when to apply the discount?
Uber will recognise that your pick-up location is the hospital which you selected on the application form and will automatically apply the discount. -
Why is the discount only applied to trips from the hospital, not trips to the hospital?
Discovery is concerned about your safety after you have worked extended hours and thus wants to incentivise you to use an Uber driver to take you home safely, rather than drive yourself home post-call and risk being involved in a motor vehicle accident. Hence the benefit is for trips from the hospital. -
When is the monthly cap applied? If my monthly spend is R700 and I take a trip from the hospital to the value of R100, will the cap be applied mid-trip?
The cap is applied in-between trips. Thus if your monthly spend for trips from the hospital is R700 and you take a trip from the hospital for R100, the full trip will be covered but any future trips will be at your own expense. -
Will Discovery or Uber notify me once I exceed the R750 value and the benefit is capped?
Unfortunately neither Discovery nor Uber’s systems are able to provide you with a summary of the monthly spend of all of your trips from the hospital. You can calculate this amount by reviewing your trip history in the Uber app.
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I have a Classic or Executive policy with Discovery Insure and already receive a 25% discount on my Uber trips. Can I activate this benefit?
Unfortunately Uber’s systems do not allow more than one type of discount to be applied to a particular cell phone number. Thus you will need to select which of the benefits you would like activated: 25% discount on all trips up to a total benefit of R250 per month or 100% discount on trips from the hospital up to a total benefit of R750 per month.
If you have previously activated the Discovery Insure Uber benefit and you try and activate this benefit, Discovery will contact you to confirm which of the benefits should be applied. -
I have a Discovery credit card and receive up to 20% cash back on my Uber spend. Can I activate this benefit?
Yes, you can. You will continue to receive up to 20% cash back on all of your Uber spend. Uber trips from the hospital that are covered by this benefit will not be included in your Uber spend. -
What is the ‘fair usage’ policy?
The ‘fair usage’ policy contains measures to ensure that an individual's actions do not negatively impact the sustainability of this benefit. Currently the only ‘fair usage’ measure is a limit on the value per trip of R750. Should the cost of an Uber trip from the hospital exceed this limit, the individual is responsible for paying the difference. Discovery reserves the right to apply further measures in the future. -
Who do I contact if I have queries?
You can contact Discovery by emailing discoverysafetrip@discovery.co.za