Are We Growing to the Point to Where We Need A Mobile App To Figure Out Where to Go To Stay In Network with Insurers And Their Complex Plans and Benefits?

I have been quite vocal about everybody and their mobile apps and it’s time to begin aggregating some of this stuff, you know kind of like what Microsoft did years ago with taking Word, Excel, etc. and creating an Office Suite. Every day today we have new healthcare apps showing up and again it is up to us as consumers to see and figure out if we see value. When you are really sick and needing care are you going to run to your phone and use your insurer’s app to stay in network? Perhaps yes and perhaps not, each situation is it s own.

This article talks about both Blue Cross and United and their mobile offerings and in time as technology is growing, will this be something consumers will be held responsible for, checking their apps before taking the journey to the ER Room? Of course there are regular visits and finding doctors in network too that fall in here and perhaps there’s more time available in those instances to research. How about this article for a look at reality, lots of folks with apps on their phones but not getting used!

One Third of Cell Phone Users Have Apps–Very Few Use Them–Games Are the Most Popular According To This Survey

It does make one wonder too with constant changes with contracts and doctors in network, how accurate is this information? Take notice of this company, HealthGrades that has dated material, listing dead doctors for one and it makes one wonder how up to date is there information. HealthGrades gets their information from insurance carriers and from State Boards, and passes the buck back to those folks to provide accurate information so where do we win here with this type of accountability? I wash shocked to see my deceased physician for over 7 years still taking HealthNet and maybe I need to goo in and write up a review <grin>. Again, how accurate will this information be? Is HealthGrades getting the most up to date information aggregated and will these apps carry the same errors as if new contract were signed since the update, as a consumer you could think you are in network when in actuality you are not.

HealthGrades And Other MD Rating and Referral Sites List “Dead Doctors” on Their MD Information Pages And Even Include the Insurance Plans the “Dead Doctors” Honor

So we come back again to those algorithms that aggregate data and wonder is there value here and is the information accurate today. It’s all about those algorithms created to update and be responsible for accurate consumer data. Heck one day I even had a representative from United themselves get confused and called me up over a post about a hospital in Orange County not taking the “old employer Pacificare” plans, which are now United as they thought I meant they didn’t have a contract with the hospital. The bottom line was yes they do have a contract as United Healthcare, but when it came to employer United plans based on the old Pacificare programs, the hospital doesn’t take those, so see how confusing it gets even internally for those own employees to keep is straight and advise too. BD

Employers in Orange County Looking for New HMO Contracts as St. Josephs and Some Others Begin Cancelling Agreements with Pacificare (UnitedHeatlhCare) – Employer Capitation Contracts

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina unveiled its first iPhone application Monday, giving customers the ability to find urgent care centers, compare drug costs or contact customer service from their smart phones.

Company officials said the free app is available for download by customers with an iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch.

John Roos, a senior vice president, said the app could prevent a family from going to an emergency room and waiting two hours, only to realize they could have gone to a nearby urgent care center and paid less.

"Obviously there's been a huge uptick in the use of mobile devices that make everyone's lives easier," he said, adding that the company wants to deliver information on the platforms people find most useful.

Blue Cross unveils heath care app - CharlotteObserver.com