Apps bring health care into 'mobile moments'

NASHVILLE — When you're standing in the grocery line the next time, take a look around: There may be someone checking her smartphone or doing calf raises.

While it might be an idle reflex in a moment of quiet, it could also be a moment of multitasking — a few repetitions of easy yet tingly stretches or checking in on a recent insurance claim. Those "mobile moments," such as standing in a grocery queue, are what a generation of smartphone apps are looking to capture as a way to integrate health care into everyday life.

The person doing calf raises could very well have been this reporter or another person using the Streaks for Small Starts app developed by the Governor's Foundation for Health and Fitness, an initiative of Gov. Bill Haslam's aimed at encouraging Tennesseans to bring movement and healthier choices into their lives.

The person swiping could be a customer of UnitedHealthcare using the Health4Me app to check and pay a claim.

Both apps are examples of the mobile health trend — mHealth as its called in the industry — taking place in all corners of health care and wellness as companies try to engage with consumers or patients where people communicate: the smartphone.

"People aren't thinking about their health or health care on a daily basis. Most don't need to," said Craig Hankins, vice president of consumer engagement products at UnitedHealthcare. "We seek to support our consumers in regards to their whole well-being."

For the Governor's Foundation, the app is a way to heighten awareness about how little decisions over time can build a healthier lifestyle in a state where the population is among the least healthy in the country.

About 5,700 Tennesseans are using the app — up roughly 1,300 from 10 days ago. The foundation is working with employers interested in establishing wellness programs in the office.

"Technology today is so good. You could start a program on almost no dollars or spend as much as you want to spend," said Dr. Mary Yarbrough, executive director of Vanderbilt University's faculty and staff health and wellness programs.

The university is working the Governor's Foundation app into its existing program. Streaks is designed to keep people coming back through motivating badges and a connection to neighbors. You can give or get virtual high-fives.

UnitedHealthcare, the nation's largest insurer that insures about 1.2 million Tennesseans, gauges success by how frequently consumers use the features, said Hankins. There are 1.2 million people with the app downloaded, some of whom are piloting the app as part of their employers' wellness programs.

Specialty focus

While fitness apps can keep healthy lifestyles at the forefront for people in relatively good health, there are strides to design mobile software to help people with chronic disease.

The Ginger.io app at Centerstone Research Institute in Nashville is designed to connect chronically ill patients who frequent the emergency room to medical providers to increase primary care.

The company provided iPhones to a test group and found that trips to the ER fell dramatically and patients said they felt better connected to medical providers through secure Skype-like chats, said Tom Doub, CEO of CRI.

Medical professionals monitored changes in a patients' routines to identify if they needed help — before the need of an ambulance arose.

Others apps, such has Health4Me and a soon-to-be launched app from BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, aim to bring new cost transparency to users' fingertips.

The apps are designed, in part, to help consumers make decisions about health care by highlighting costs. UnitedHealthcare's app lets any user find providers and compare prices.

"(Being unaware of a procedure cost) is not a good way to conduct your personal finances, but it's how health care has worked for a long time. We're working to change that, but it will take time," said Mary Danielson, spokeswoman for BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee.

There are challenges when it comes to interacting with people on their phones. Security is a chief concern but there are also other, more subtle challenges.

Apps that try to be too many things for too many people often lose traction with consumers, said Lee Farabaugh, chief experience officer with Point Clear Solutions, a health care technology company in Atlanta that has its largest office in Nashville.

If the application isn't intuitive, interesting or fluid enough then the person doesn't use it.

UnitedHealthcare has a fitness tracker so users don't have to have separate apps and to bring other features such as bill pay to light.

And companies are looking to make their apps more fun — perhaps bringing a touch of Angry Birds or Candy Crush to health care.

"We've not cracked the code yet on the best ways to get consumers to adopt it. No one's figured it out," said Doub.