UnitedHealth (UNH) Enhances Its Mobile App Features

In an effort to better serve its customers, leading health insurer UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE:UNH) has enhanced its mobile app, Health4Me. This mobile app is compatible with iPhone and Android devices. It is aimed at lowering costs by increasing preventative care and reducing time to access care.

The Health4Me Mobile App was first launched in 2012. It provides millions of UnitedHealthcare employer plan participants 24/7 access to a registered nurse, enabling them to locate a nearby in-network physician, hospital or other medical facility, and access to their personal health benefits information. An “Easy Connect” feature allows users to select the type of questions they have about their claims and benefits. Users could also request a callback from a UnitedHealthcare customer service representative.

UnitedHealth has now added new features to this app, primarily related to preventive services. These alert the customers about their health status early on, which helps them to take necessary measures to prevent actual occurrence of the disease later on. The preventive service therefore saves customers from utilizing costly medical care and ultimately saves the company from paying out claims, thereby aiding its bottom line.

The mobile app will now offer personalized care notifications, which will automatically alert members about preventive services and recommended medical treatments or tests. While reminding them about their missed medical service, such as immunization of a child or a blood-sugar test for a diabetic, it will also help people to look for health care providers and schedule appointments.

UnitedHealth is providing personalized care notifications to select UnitedHealthcare plan participants nationwide, including Medicaid beneficiaries in 17 states.

The app will now also enable members to pay medical bills with a credit card, debit card, bank account or health savings account. Access to a nurse or virtual physician visits 24 hours a day; a digital identification card; and wellness-related resources such as integration with wearable devices are some of the other features.

Later during the year,UnitedHealth plans to enhance its service by providing clinically focused notifications based on personalized claims data, such as alerts for prenatal care and support programs for people with back pain.

The introduction of this enhanced mobile service will help UnitedHealth to be a frontrunner in the industry by providing greater service via handheld devices. Also, customers are increasingly demanding such care services, given their ease and flexibility of use.

According to research firm Forrester, 65% of the consumers are interested in using a health plan’s website or app to access a physician, and 53% are interested in receiving symptom-based treatment suggestions. The company wants to leverage upon this growing demand for technology-enabled services.

UnitedHealth carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Other stocks worth considering include Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) , WellCare Health Plans, Inc. (NYSE:WCG) and Nobilis Health Corp. (NYSE:HLTH) . All these stocks carry the same Zacks Rank as UnitedHealth.

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