As noted by Bridget Van Kralingen, a senior vice president at IBM, “The last best experience that anyone has anywhere becomes the minimum expectation for the experience they want everywhere.” Our team often calls this “the Amazon effect,” because today’s consumers expect the easy, intuitive experience they have shopping on Amazon everywhere they go on the internet — including with their health insurance provider. And you know what? They’re not wrong to do so.
Your health insurance organization has the capability to implement a consumer-centric, omni-channel strategy that anticipates member’s needs.
Imagine becoming a true advocate for your members health and wallet, especially for members who struggle with both.
“Sure, Marybeth,” you may be saying to yourself as you roll your eyes. “And I want a pony too.” Well, it’s true! (Maybe not the part about the pony.) Your health insurance organization absolutely can lay the foundations for better, more positive and more meaningful interactions with your members. And it all rests on your ability to predict their needs and address them through proactive messaging, especially on their mobile devices.
I promise, this is not a pie-in-the-sky dream. This is achievable right now using data you’re already collecting from your members. Our team at Perficient knows what it takes to get this done for our clients. And we’re the right choice to help your organization implement it within your enterprise. Let’s explore the details, or feel free to contact us for more information.
Your health insurance organization has a trust and understanding problem
By and large, healthcare consumers don’t trust health insurance companies. We know this, and the data backs us up.
But where does this lack of trust come from? In part, it comes from the fact that, despite health insurance companies wanting to serve as stewards of their members’ healthcare, many of them simply react to it instead of acting. Pay a claim, process a prior authorization, etc. — the interactions depend on the member doing something and the payer organization then reacting to it. The onus is all on the member to navigate the system alone until there’s something to be done.
This is not what members want. As KFF’s studies show, consumers want to better understand their options and coverages. Those who have problems with their insurance providers tend to have problems understanding their options under their plans.
There’s no way busy people who aren’t health insurance experts should have to figure this all out for themselves. As they used to say on the TV infomercials, “There’s gotta be a better way!” And, as it happens, there is.
Proactive nudges and interactions can help you build trust and increase understanding
Being an advocate means being relevant in their time of need and of course, doing your best to anticipate their needs.
- Find in-network specialists if diagnosed with a certain condition; use the phone’s geolocation to inform the distance to a provider
- Compare specialists based on cost/distance/facility
- Get a cost estimate for appointment based on coverage and plan spend to date and a reminder the day of the appointment
- See cost-saving alternative medications from the plan formulary based on current prescriptions
- Show prescription phone notifications connected to the provider’s care plan
- Connect with the member’s wearable(s) health trackers to add funds to an HSA or FSA
- Connect the member to available support resources and affiliated/third-party options
You may be telling yourself, “We have that in the portal.” or “We email that vendor solution to our members.” Yes, the abyss of email and portals is all irrelevant noise when it’s not shared in the moment that matters!
None of these should wait for the member to start communication with your organization. Your team should be leading the charge with proactive nudges — push notifications, texts or emails, depending on the member’s chosen communication preferences — with robust campaigns geared toward helping guide the member toward relevant resources and plan benefits they may not know they can access.
Where does the data come from?
All these communications and strategies rely on a massive amount of member data. But this is all data you’re almost certainly collecting now through HIPAA-compliant means through everyday member interactions, such as:
- Behavioral data
- Data from provider organizations (one-off claims; pre-authorizations for a series of care that indicates the management of a chronic condition; etc.)
- Passive and ambient smartphone data
- Systems integrations, including connected health apps
- User-provided data
Active nudges and messaging strategies simply depend on you putting the power of this data to work to benefit the member and their unique healthcare needs. And this is a goal today’s healthcare consumers want to achieve from their technology and online interactions — everything from wearables and nutrition trackers to condition-specific apps and augmented reality. Integrating this data in a holistic way and translating that into discrete advice for members can be a value-added service your team provides.
Take the next step with the Perficient team
There are things you can do right now to make your members’ experiences better and more meaningful and have better long-term effects on their health and wellness. Through proactive interactions and nudges to members’ mobile devices, making use of data they already provide in HIPAA-compliant ways, you can set yourselves apart from your competitors and stand out in the minds of both members and potential future members.
Our experts at Perficient have the strategic and technical experience you need to achieve real-world, measurable results that will have positive impacts for your business. And we’re ready to put that experience to work for your team. Contact us today to learn more or to schedule a consultation with our team.
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