HealthTap SOS: Immediate, Trusted, Simple Disaster Relief for Organizations and Governments

Business Wire

Population managers can now deploy world-class, compassionate healthcare in minutes during natural disasters, war, or terrorist attacks

PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- HealthTap, the world’s first Global Health Practice providing 24/7 immediate access to query-to-cure, world-class care from a network of more than 85,000 doctors, today announced HealthTap SOS. A new service available for population managers—including large multinational corporations, governments, and insurance companies—HealthTap SOS provides 24/7, real-time supplemental disaster relief from top doctors via any mobile device or web connection.

Within minutes, adversely impacted populations can quickly access important doctor-created information personalized for incident-specific health concerns, and they can also access compassionate care via live doctor consultations. By virtually deploying doctor knowledge and expertise to jumpstart the relief process, including before local first responders arrive, HealthTap SOS has the potential to fundamentally improve relief efforts across a range of disaster events: from natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods, and tornadoes to manmade disasters such as nuclear accidents, chemical spills, or even acts of terror.

When multinational Fortune 500 company Flex faced the impact of a disaster in December 2015, HealthTap was there to help. Many Flex employees are residents of Chennai, India, where severe flooding created significant health and safety concerns. Through its network of top doctors, HealthTap provided thousands of residents with life-saving information on mitigating the spread of Leptospira, a potentially harmful bacteria often found in large stagnant pools of contaminated water. Shortly after the disaster, HealthTap and Flex worked together to ensure that an entire population received on-point information about the “do’s and don'ts” of accessing water during a flood: how to use the limited supply of clean water together with sugar to keep hydration levels up, and how to remain safe until access to physical resources became readily available.

Trusted doctor knowledge
- Personalized, contextual information
- Doctor notifications and real-time health alerts (via push/SMS/email) to send important and helpful do’s and don'ts as well as other relevant information to affected members
- Curated feed of doctor insights in the form of answers to frequently asked questions, tips, and checklists
Two-way empathetic communication
- Answers and consultations from real, caring doctors across 141 specialties
- 24/7 immediate access to physicians via video, voice, and text chat
- Population managers can quickly broadcast critical announcements via push/SMS/emails
- Accessible via mobile device or personal computers
- Mental health counseling and support from psychiatrists and clinical psychologists
Engagement and support
- Customized health checklists (“to-do’s”) created by doctors
- Automated doctor health reminders (sent via email, SMS, push notification)
- Personalized Emergency Newsletters and Surveys syndicated as needed (via email, SMS, push)
- Real-time alerts via the HealthTap website and app
Data
- Through the power of HealthTap HOPES^TM, population managers receive real-time individual and population health insights, including information on what members need and where they are
- Data segmentation—such as by location, age, or gender—for further analysis

“As a CEO of a rapidly growing company, I know what it’s like to constantly be mindful of the health and well-being of my employees,” said Ron Gutman, CEO of HealthTap. “With rapid expansion into new states, new countries, and new continents, I know how I would feel if my employees were involved in a devastating disaster. When I received the call from Flex’s CEO regarding their employees in Chennai, I immediately jumped in to help. Our core team immediately assembled for action, and within hours, we activated our best doctors, engineers, and communications and engagement specialists to deploy our HealthTap SOS solution to Flex employees in Chennai. Within minutes of deployment, we were able to help thousands of Flex’s Chennai residents impacted by the severe flooding and provide them valuable access to top doctors and their knowledge right from their mobile devices. Our robust and secure technology platform and our unparalleled doctors network enabled us to provide immediate relief at scale.”

“We are so thankful for HealthTap’s speed and efficiency,” said Paul Baldassari, Chief Human Resources Officer of Fortune 500 Company Flex. “We needed to quickly provide thousands of our employees with accessible, easy-to-use information and virtual care, and that’s exactly what HealthTap delivered. Access to physical resources was extremely limited, and through HealthTap's proprietary technology and deep domain expertise, we were able to help our employees and their loved ones during an extremely difficult situation. We are proud to partner with HealthTap and support their efforts to bring this much-needed service to population managers around the world.”

About HealthTap

HealthTap is the world’s first Global Health Practice^TM. We deliver immediate, world-class healthcare 24/7 from Query to Cure^TM. Through video, voice, and text chat on any mobile device or web connection, we connect millions everywhere with the most trusted health advice from a network of more than 85,000 top U.S. doctors. HealthTap’s proprietary, robust, and secure Health Operating System^TM (HOPES^TM) and proprietary triaging technology enable hospital systems, large employers, and insurance companies the ability to provide the right care at the right time at the right price.