THE CHALLENGE
Committed to making healthy living easier for its members, Highmark wanted to ensure it was adequately serving their needs by providing products and services that would support a healthier lifestyle. Recognizing the increasing use of mobile and digital channels as the new standard in connecting with the world at large, Highmark aimed to create a mobile strategy that would simplify the health and wellness information process by providing actionable health information directly from members’ phones, whenever and wherever they needed it.

Highmark was also looking for a more direct and customized way for members to locate in-network physicians. Highmark realized that the ability to immediately search for physicians via mobile devices gave it the opportunity to provide a better member experience. Members could quickly and conveniently take a more active role in their own health, as well as more easily find physicians. A mobile connection to members would also give Highmark the opportunity to gain a more intimate understanding of their members in order to customize messaging according to specific member needs.

THE SOLUTION
Highmark decided to implement A.D.A.M.’s user-friendly mHealth2Go iPhone mobile app specifically customized for their organization. This dynamic mobile health solution lets their members connect to the health information and local care they need, when they need it, by providing first aid information, searchable health topics, a symptom navigator, a GPS-enabled local healthcare search that includes doctors, hospitals, urgent care, retail clinics and pharmacies, and even information about exclusive Highmark member discounts.

Working with A.D.A.M., Highmark launched their privately labeled app called Health@Hand within the Apple iStore that allowed their members to:

• Get immediate access to the most frequently needed first aid information categorized into four areas—emergencies, bites and stings, minor injuries and poisoning—even without a wireless connection.
• Search for health-related information by topic or symptom. When searching by symptom, their app uses A.D.A.M.’s Symptom Navigator to provide customized views and health topics by gender and age. Search results include links to physician-developed and reviewed articles, as well as images.
• Locate in-network physicians and other healthcare facilities simply by searching within a specific mile radius using their current location or zip code. Search results highlight the closest facilities on Google Maps, as well as phone number, website, address, turn-by-turn directions and 360-degree photos of the facility’s location.
• Receive immediate access to exclusive discounts on healthcare resources like vision providers, work out facilities, weight loss programs, senior care, and even recreation and travel while on the road.

THE RESULT
With their own privately labeled mobile health app, Highmark is now able to reach the growing market of mobile members through a tool that is always within their reach. Health@Hand provides Highmark’s members with yet another resource for healthcare information that empowers them to better understand their healthcare options and make better decisions about their health.

“Health@Hand is a game-changing solution in our category that gives us a competitive advantage over the competition,” said Steffan Johnson, senior consumerism lead, Highmark. “As the market leader in the health insurance space, mobile solutions like this help us flex our innovation muscle, enabling us to deliver a better user experience to our members. By giving our members a mobile solution that provides health information and a way to connect to plan physicians, Health@Hand helps us improve member satisfaction and drive new member acquisition.”

Highmark launched its Health@Hand mobile app on the iPhone because it was the easiest way to reach a large number of its members with Apple’s sizable installed base. Highmark also liked the iPhone’s robust, user-friendly, media-rich experience, as well as the ability for consumers to leverage the functionality right out of the box.

“When we got serious about developing a mobile strategy, we looked at a number of healthcare solutions vendors, but it was A.D.A.M.’s overall value and speed to market that gave them the edge over the competition,” continued Johnson. “Our implementation was simple, giving us the ability to customize the app to fit our members’ needs. Plus, A.D.A.M.’s ability to accommodate to our requests on the fly gave us a great overall implementation experience.”