Building your stamina while on quarantine

Medicard Access Express (MACE) app

By now, many of us must have realized that staying marooned on the couch and glued to Netflix or Facebook can also get tiring. Being mandated to stay indoors does not mean we have to literally stay put. We need to get creative on how we can remain active in order to build our stamina and keep our sanity amid this lockdown.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, for instance, suggests taking deep breaths, stretching and meditating, eating healthy meals and exercising regularly as among the ways to take care of yourself during this stressful time. Thanks to technology, there are apps and websites which can serve as your health and fitness guides however simple the activity may be. On your mobile phone or your smartwatch, you can download apps which will remind you to hydrate throughout the day, practice deep and relaxing breathing exercises, and nag you to get on your feet and move from time to time.

Medicard Philippines Inc. has a number of apps and websites which can immediately assist you with health-related needs and questions, as well as provide tips on how to push for a healthy lifestyle while staying indoors.

Medicard Access Express (MACE) app, for one, allows members to easily access the health maintenance organization’s roster of healthcare services. From the safety of your living spaces, you can view information about your health plan, register your dependents, request for consultation and search for accredited doctors, clinics and hospitals.

MyPocketDoctor allows you to consult from a medical professional wherever you are.

MyPocketDoctor, meanwhile, provides medical consultations in the easiest and most convenient way possible. The country’s first telemedicine app will definitely prove useful at a time when we are ordered to stay at home as it enables you to speak to a doctor through phone or video conferencing.

Requesting for a consultation can be done in three ways: through the app, through mypocketdoctor.com or by simply texting 21585760 (for Globe or TM subscribers) or 225655760 (Smart or TNT subscribers).

Both MACE and MyPocketDoctor apps can be downloaded for free from Apple’s App Store and Google Play Store.

Keep fit even while staying indoors through the Medicard Lifestyle blog.

If you are at a loss as to what healthy meals to cook or which workout routines to do, Medicard Philippines has a blog, Medicard Lifestyle (medicardlifestyle.com), to serve as your guide. Medicard Lifestyle shows that healthy eating at home need not be boring. Here, you can learn how to make Baked Chicken Katsu and Fish Katsu; Charred Shrimp, Leek and Asparagus Skewers and Vegan Garlic Bread, among other mouth-watering dishes. Unsure of which exercises to do? Check out the blog’s fitness corner for easy-to-follow 5-minute chair yoga and 5-minute wall yoga by Teacher Anna of Surya Fitness & Yoga. The HMO’s newest website also features water intake, BMI and calorie calculators.

Medicard Lifestyle is the newest health and lifestyle blog from Medicard Philippines.

Aside from its free mobile apps and blog, Medicard’s Facebook page’s chatbot is also on hand to answer common queries. Visit www.facebook.com/MediCard.PH for more information and updates.

Keeping our health in check should be among our top priorities during this challenging and uncertain time. Let us use these apps and websites to our advantage as we continue to protect ourselves and our loved ones from the dreaded COVID-19.