Digital Health Products Gaining Ground In The Benefits Space

The world has seen numerous advancements in the rise of digital health products in the benefits space, driving a recent revolution that has contributed firsthand to better health outcomes for benefit participants.

These digital tools have massive potential to improve and enhance the delivery of health care for the individual. With the rise in digital benefits, we have also seen a rise in both consumer interest and purchasing power across all age groups when it comes to digital health benefits. As a result, we anticipate opportunities in the digital health space to continue to grow as time goes on across many markets, and to change to meet consumer needs and preferences.

Digital health benefits have gained mainstream consumer acceptance because these solutions better meet consumer needs, which explains the recent unprecedented growth in the past year of these digital services. There are many reasons why digital wellness is becoming more and more mainstream, and this is a trend that will soon become the norm.

One of the main reasons for the increase in digital health services is because they are much easier to access. Digital plans are designed to connect participants with the resources they need as quickly and simply as possible, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This has greatly improved the lines of communication between health care providers and customers. Technology has made these lines of communication even more efficient, with the ease of products like virtual assistants and live agents to answer questions in real time and provide support and clarification, making it possible for participants to receive faster and better assistance.

Digital plans can be accessible no matter a participant’s location, offering better coverage for individuals who live in smaller cities or towns and were not able to take advantage of more quality care in the past due to their location. Since these services can easily be accessed by a much wider range of individuals, they become more cost effective. These types of plans offer personalized experiences that are catered to each individual’s plan benefits.

Digital health benefits have proven much more cost effective for both the plan providers and for the benefit participants, providing more value and cost savings. Some digital plans have even gotten rid of the typical co-pay and provide a superior quality of service with no extra costs and no out-of-pocket surprises, which is a perfect fit for individuals who are more cost-conscious. There has been a strong trend of older adults using these digital platforms with more and more frequency. Digital platforms have been very successful in optimizing systems as part of a larger effort to reduce human error, improve patient outcomes, and lower costs through web and mobile experiences.

With technology taking over the health care field, the rise in digital plans has supported a trend for more information to live online and be completely paperless. Every part of the plan is saved in an online portal so participants do not have to keep track of pamphlets and clutter. Everything is accessible via a website and there is clarity when it comes to the exact services that the plan offers. Many digital plans offer both enrollment and transactions to be completed exclusively online, including looking up benefit information, claim status and network information.

Many believe that soon scanning a health care ID card from home will be as common as scanning a boarding pass from a phone. These digital plans are much better for the environment and play a part in reducing the environmental impact, which is an ideal first step in making a business more sustainable and eco-friendly. A paperless process is also an easy way to show a company’s concern for the environment. Going paperless also reduces the chaos of a million pamphlets laying around and the real fear of losing something, and helps to eliminate errors.

Increased transparency always leads to greater participant satisfaction, which is another reason why digital benefit plans are becoming more popular. With a digital system, it is easier for participants to understand how their benefits are being applied. This leads to participants being much happier about the services they receive. With a digital system, benefits are clearly administered in real time, as opposed to the old system where participants were forced to wait weeks for claim submission and adjudication.

Although we have seen an acceleration in digital health plans recently, this is a trend that will continue to grow, and become more mainstream in the near future. While the adoption of digital plans is important, the most vital attitude of any health coverage is to find a plan that is simple and that consumers can make sense of. When searching for a benefits plan that best fits your needs, always make sure that you know and fully understand what your plan offers and how it measures up against other plans. Make sure you choose a company that provides you with the right service and tools, and a plan that puts your needs first.

Terry Ward is the senior vice president of sales for United Vision Plan. He may be contacted at [email protected].

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Terry Ward is the senior vice president of sales for United Vision Plan. He may be contacted at [email protected].