Despite the vital role health insurance plays in accessing healthcare, there remains a significant lack of understanding among individuals about how it works. Shockingly, a recent national study revealed that only 9% of surveyed Americans demonstrated a grasp of four basic health insurance terms. Compounding this issue, many digital solutions exacerbate the confusion experienced by patients.
One common problem is the absence of comprehensive mobile experiences or member-focused solutions from healthcare providers. Those few that do exist often suffer from outdated designs overloaded with text, failing to address key pain points and provide clarity regarding coverage. Moreover, numerous features are scattered across different providers, requiring separate logins and interfaces, resulting in a fragmented and disjointed experience for members. In an era where consumers expect highly personalized digital interactions across various industries, the healthcare sector must rise to meet these evolving expectations.
It is within this challenging landscape that WebTPA, a leading third-party administrator of health insurance benefits, recognized the need for a transformative digital solution. Having witnessed the entry of younger generations into the workforce, WebTPA understood the increasing demand for personalized digital experiences as individuals navigated independent healthcare for the first time.
Opportunity: Partnering with Bottle Rocket, WebTPA embarked on a mission to redefine their digital experience by creating a flexible and configurable platform called MyHealthHub. This innovative solution aimed to deliver intelligent, personalized experiences that optimize health benefits and empower members with crucial health information. Central to the project was the development of a customizable application capable of meeting the unique requirements of WebTPA's diverse client base.
To achieve this ambitious goal, the collaborative team brought together nine different vendors and seamlessly integrated 12 systems, including WebTPA's own infrastructure. By leveraging the power of Flutter, a versatile development framework, the resulting application was compatible across iOS, Android, web, and mobile web platforms simultaneously.
MyHealthHub emerged as a comprehensive health benefits platform, offering a simplified and user-friendly experience that guided and supported members throughout their entire care journey. The application enabled easy access to care providers, allowed tracking of healthcare spending, provided real-time claim information and status updates, delivered coverage details, facilitated management of ID cards and dependent information, and even incorporated secure HIPAA authorization features. To address members' needs for efficient communication, the platform incorporated chat functionality and a robust messaging center, empowering users to upload documents, complete custom forms, and engage in seamless communication with relevant parties.
Additionally, the partnership with ClearCost Health paved the way for a robust and white-labeled care discovery experience. Through ClearCost Health, users could transparently estimate costs and compare prices for both in-network and out-of-network healthcare providers.
The new digital experience was highly customizable, allowing for white-labeling and offering an array of customizations and features. Notably, the platform provided the ability to extend or collapse sections of the app, ensuring flexibility and ease of use. Regular updates could be seamlessly implemented without the need for extensive development intervention. Furthermore, the static web app boasted auto-scaling capabilities, ensuring high performance even during peak usage periods.
Through these groundbreaking innovations, WebTPA successfully positioned itself as a frontrunner, not only within the third-party administrator space but also among healthcare apps in general. By offering ways to find care, access personalized cost estimations, review tailored plan and coverage information, and much more, MyHealthHub granted users an unprecedented level of access and understanding that had previously been difficult to achieve.
Outcome: The outcome of this collaborative effort propelled WebTPA ahead of the curve, redefining the member experience and setting new standards for healthcare apps. Members now enjoy unparalleled access to care, personalized cost estimations, plan details, and coverage information. Through MyHealthHub, WebTPA has successfully revolutionized how individuals engage with their health benefits, empowering them to make informed decisions and achieve optimal clinical outcomes.
2023 Vanessa de Abreu