On the path to a wellbeing revolution
The protection and health insurance industry is well placed to be at the forefront of this innovation, as access to virtual primary care services becomes the new normal.
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HealthHero is built upon the powerful combination of digital knowhow and telehealth expertise with over 20 years’ experience in connecting patients with doctors remotely.
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There is no doubt the coronavirus crisis has brought with it radical change.
In this guide, produced by COVER in association with HealthHero, we explore the key changes taking place today, and the advanced innovations changing the face of healthcare services. Importantly, we analyse why with a revolutionary period such as this, comes the need for adaptation, evolution, and education, across all areas of the sector – including advisers and employers too.
Nowhere is this more apparent than when it comes to digital innovation within the healthcare industry.
Formed from the combination of leading clinical businesses, HealthHero was founded to provide a full spectrum of primary care services delivered through a suite of digital tools.
We currently operate in: United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Republic of Ireland.
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A marriage of human expertise and digital convenience
In October 2019, the Global Health Security Index released a report analysing how prepared countries were for an epidemic, and if they had the proper tools in place to deal with serious disease outbreaks. The US and UK were named as the best prepared countries.
Covid is a terrible thing to have happened, but if there is one positive that has come out of it, it's the adoption of more efficient and digital ways of delivering healthcare
At the time, the coronavirus pandemic was still an unknown and unnamed virus.
Yet what was unleashed in the months following the report’s release was perhaps the worst public health crisis of a generation for both the US and the UK. It laid bare the fragility of the UK National Health Service and brought to the fore how much the sector desperately needed to innovate in order to continue to deliver world-class healthcare to patients.
Of course, the pandemic simply highlighted issues the health sector has been dealing with for decades: people are living longer, they want a better health service and options, but there has often been little to no money to pay for it.
The solution in tackling this structural issue is to make the delivery of healthcare more efficient and more effective. And for many, this has meant embracing digital technology like never before.
As much as 75% of primary care consultations in Europe could be resolved remotely
<1%
Currently, less than 1% of them are executed digitally
HealthHero was founded in Autumn 2019 to provide a spectrum of outpatient services, including mental health and primary care, delivered through a suite of digital tools. Today, it is the largest telehealth provider in Europe.
What is digital healthcare?
It is the future. In many cases, digital technology is able to remove the “friction” out of accessing healthcare and offers speedy and convenient access to medical advice and support.
Why is digital healthcare crucial for the PMI sector?
To date, the protection sector has been one of the first adopters of digital health tools. And often when the protection insurance sector embraces digital healthcare, they use it very effectively, not only to add value to their customers but also to fundamentally support their business, especially with life insurance and group income protection where the right interventions can help reduce claims. According to Singh, this is a really good marriage between what HealthHero is able to offer as an innovative healthtech provider and protection insurance.
This is where I feel the magic happens."
Why is digital healthcare so important now?
For its part, the coronavirus pandemic has sped up changes that have been apparent for decades in the industry. It has placed a spotlight on the immense value of the numerous health and wellbeing services available through protection and health insurance propositions. It has highlighted the need for both employers and employees to take an active role in preventing serious health conditions or managing them appropriately. It has brought to the fore the range of services available digitally and the ease with which they can be accessed in a pandemic and outside of one too.
How well is digital healthcare being embraced currently?
It took less than a month of lockdown in 2020 for individuals and employers alike to call upon digital GP consultations, as usage skyrocketed, while almost overnight the UK found itself exploring an emergence of remote health services.
In a post-Covid light, self-care techniques such as mindfulness, nutrition and sleep are no longer considered fads, but instead, necessary survival mechanisms for many at a time when people are adapting to a period of unprecedented change.
In particular, employers are better understanding the importance of ‘building resilience’ amongst their workforce, taking into account how digital healthcare tools can help curb workplace absences and promote wellbeing at work and at home too – particularly as more firms move towards flexible working practices in 2021.
HealthHero's digital revolution: What’s on offer?
Video calls with GPs
Online appointment booking 24/7
Clinician choices
Private prescriptions, open referrals and fit notes
Access to medically validated health information
Online counselling
Mental wellbeing tools and tips
Better and ongoing engagement with health issues
Whilst before coronavirus there had been a reluctance to embrace such tools, with questions around the effectiveness of them. Multiple lockdowns and social distance requirements has seen the take-up of virtual appointments soar by 161% over the past year. In fact, the marriage of human expertise with digital tools is revolutionising the healthcare industry at immense speed.
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Ranjan Singh
CEO, HealthHero
“Pre-pandemic there was a low level of adoption of digital and tech in healthcare. It's a matter of habit. Patients see doctors in person, so to change this habit on the patient side, doctor side and provider side, is a huge deal. Covid-19 forced that change.”
“Seeing your GP virtually is so much more convenient and equally as effective,” says Ranjan Singh, HealthHero's CEO. “Doctors are also seeing that it is not that difficult. Provider networks, the NHS, insurers and others now need to build technology into their standard operating architecture. Covid is a terrible thing to have happened, but if there is one positive that has come out of it, it's the adoption of more efficient ways of delivering healthcare.”
Q&A with Ranjan Singh
"I would like to see insurers adopting digital health tools as more of a core offering, marrying user experience with cost and process efficiency.
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The benefits of VAT* in insurance
‘The doctor will digitally see you now’
Chapter three
Chapter four
The science of happiness
The obesity challenge
Preventative notions:
Covid’s hidden health opportunities
Chapter two
Chapter one
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Last year as the Covid-19 pandemic swept through the UK, NHS waiting lists stood at the highest level since records began. It faced an unprecedented backlog of several million patients on top of the 4.5 million on waiting lists before the pandemic struck.
Indeed, a survey by IPSOS Mori, on behalf of the Health Foundation, found almost half of patients were simply uncomfortable about visiting their local NHS hospital, with three quarters actively avoiding them for fear of catching the virus.(1) The Silent Sufferers research from HealthHero found that in the last year more than a third (34%) of UK adults have deliberately avoided making a GP appointment due to Covid-19, with more than half (58%) saying that this has had a negative impact on their physical health – a figure that increases to 74% for those shielding due to pre-existing medical conditions.
Others were putting off primary care in order to prevent adding extra pressure on the health service: the Government’s messaging appears to have had a significant impact, with close to half (45%) of those avoiding the GP surgery citing ‘not wanting to burden the NHS’ as their main reason for not booking appointments. GP consultations in England plummeted 33% in April last year, the equivalent of eight million less appointments.
Sources: (1) health.org.uk (2) covermagazine.co.uk (3) Aon’s UK Benefits & Trends survey 2021
Between April and June 2020 there were around:
Up to 1.5 million fewer general and acute admissions Up to 2.6 million fewer first general and acute outpatient attendances Around 280,000 fewer urgent cancer referrals Up to 25,900 fewer patients starting first cancer treatments following a decision to treat Up to 15,000 fewer patients starting first cancer treatments following an urgent GP referral
This worrying trend saw those in the protection and health insurance industry expect demand for second medical opinions and other added-value services they provide to soar. Companies looked to quickly expand their primary care offerings in order to support the health of the UK while its National Health Service struggled to cope.(2)
Somewhere amidst these missed, rescheduled, or avoided appointments, there was a strong realisation that the need for innovative healthcare solutions, and for individuals to take control of their health had become essential. When services such as your local GP, physiotherapy and even face-to-face counselling was cut off, patients needed to find solutions for their worries.
What is preventative healthcare?
Whilst the pandemic is, in all reality, a temporary event, the surge in health technology over the past 18 months has emphasised just how easy it is to take control of our own health. From apps that enable you to make same-day appointments with your GP to virtual physio appointments.
Why is preventative health care important for employers?
Preventative healthcare services for employers is becoming ever more important in the age of post-Covid-19: the top reasons for workplace absence are often minor illnesses followed by stress. And it is no secret that instances of stress, anxiety and depression have increased as a result of multiple lockdowns and strict social distancing rules over the past year.
Alongside this, there is a growing trend of using technology to track and monitor your health and use this data to potentially help prevent illnesses. In addition, mental wellbeing and physical therapy tools are also growing in popularity as individuals seek to look after their mind and body themselves and prevent sickness in the future.
Advancements like this are nothing new, and for many people, routine health check-ups and screenings with a GP or consultant are common. In many face-to-face cases, GPs offer advice and tips to help reduce the risk of future disease or conditions.
The incentive for using digital tools to do the same thing became glaringly obvious during the pandemic: rather than only ever access healthcare at the point of need, by using tools that gather data on our health and wellbeing over a period of time, the ability to help predict potential risk factors for certain diseases and put in place lifestyle changes to prevent them or lessen their impact are now a reality.
Virtual apps today offer a range of services that help provide solutions for issues including stress, minor physical pains and insomnia, before they impact other aspects of your health and life.
Yet by addressing wellbeing at work, employers are able to increase the productivity of their employees by as much as 12%. What’s more, people with a mental illness are more likely to have a preventable physical condition. Yet a combined mental health and GP offering from one supplier provides employees with well-rounded support and employers with less paperwork. The result of this also means almost 90% of organisations with health and wellbeing activity report positive outcomes.
What’s more, education and prevention of ill-health is a primary area for employers to dedicate healthcare spend on in 2021, as the importance of wellbeing in the workplace gathers momentum.(3)
Official records show that the number of people in England waiting longer than 18 weeks for routine hospital treatment was also at the highest level ever. Meanwhile, many patients either chose to, or were forced to, miss planned operations, treatment, and appointments.
Employers also sought advice to see what tools they could offer their employees to ensure they remained fit and in a positive state of mind during the pandemic.
fewer general and acute admissions
fewer first general and acute outpatient attendances
fewer urgent cancer referrals
fewer patients starting first cancer treatments following a decision to treat
fewer patients starting first cancer treatments following an urgent GP referral
15,000
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It is no surprise that it took a global pandemic to help individuals realise they need to take control of their health.
Preventative healthcare explained
44% of UK employers have in place a formalised health and wellbeing strategy
A further 33% of employers plan to introduce one in the next 12-18 months(3)
For many seeking answers, the solution was to focus on preventative healthcare tools.
*British Medical Association estimates regarding NHS England statistics
PREVENTATIVE HEALTHCARE: PART 1
34%
58%
Percentage who said that this has had a negative impact on their physical health
of UK adults deliberately avoided making a GP appointment last year due to Covid-19
45%
of those avoiding the GP surgery cited ‘not wanting to burden the NHS’ as their main reason for not booking appointments
*
m
Obesity has long been seen as a risk factor for a number of illnesses from cancer, to diabetes and heart disease – and now, Covid-19 too, it seems. But could insurers be the start of a support system for those struggling with weight problems?
The Prime Minister’s experience with Covid-19 in 2020 was a stark wake-up call to the dangers of being overweight when it comes to health and wellbeing. Scientific evidence has suggested that people with a BMI of 25 and over are at increased risk of severe complications and even death when it comes to coronavirus.
Perhaps this is the reason why, within weeks of his recovery from coronavirus in 2020, Johnson’s government had set up a plan to tackle obesity, which aimed to “help the country weather a second wave” of the virus, should it occur. In March 2021, it was announced the government is expanding access to weight loss services and could even start offering people financial rewards for maintaining a healthy lifestyle, as part of the fight against obesity.
In many ways, linking the risks of obesity to coronavirus is simply the latest way in which the government is framing the need for the UK to lose its excess fat.
“Many people are keen to have advice about healthy eating but don’t know which of the diets and dos and don’ts can be trusted. And some people who used to exercise in gyms are reluctant or unable to return and want to know how else they can regain and maintain their fitness.”
For the most part, it has been proven by researchers that large population-based initiatives are not in themselves expected to produce and sustain weight loss in the general population. According to a ‘Tackling Obesity’ research report(1), a multi-level approach (or approaches) are needed, with a central ‘health-in-all-policies’ mindset and a range of national policies supporting local programmes to effect lasting change. Indeed, it is in localised contexts that impact assessments are more easily undertaken, and where the evidence base is at its strongest, the report notes.
So at a localised level, it is worth insurers considering whether they are providing the right support mechanisms to help policyholders through this challenge over the long term.
To this end, employers too have an important role to play in obesity prevention, from covering preventative services to offering community support. Whilst the onus is on individuals to take the first step in bringing down the obesity rates in the UK, a multi-disciplinary frontline of primary care and services will be the best way to manage such conditions and any associated diseases.
Obesity is an increasingly common problem because for many people, modern living involves eating high-calorie, cheap food, as well as spending a lot of time sitting in sedentary jobs or vehicles.
22,800
Cancer represented 65% of all group critical illness claims in 2019(3)
Worryingly, research has shown it is now the second biggest risk factor for hospitalisation from Covid-19.
are estimated to be obese
17,955
65%
1 in 4
1 in 5
Being overweight or obese increases the risk of 13 different types of cancer, and causes around 22,800 cases of cancer in the UK every year(1)
Of the 17,955 claims paid for individual critical illness claims last year, cancer was the single biggest reason(2)
adults
children aged 10-11
The facts are simple: extra weight puts extra pressure on our organs and makes it harder to treat heart disease, cancer and – as we have found out – coronavirus
British Prime Minister
Boris Johnson
HealthHero Medical Director
Dr Chris Morris
“We are all much more conscious now about the risks of being obese, unfit or having co-morbidities with regards to Covid-19 and our health and lives in general.”
“We are all much more conscious now about the risks of being obese, unfit or having co-morbidities with regards to Covid-19 and our health and lives in general,” says Dr Chris Morris, HealthHero Medical Director. “Many people have gained weight and lost fitness during the lockdown, and are struggling to reverse these changes, whilst recognising the value in doing so.
People with a BMI over 40 (classified as severely obese) face almost double the risk of death from the virus compared to a BMI under 25.
PREVENTATIVE HEALTHCARE: PART 2
In the UK:
Sources: (1) Cancer Research UK (2) ABI (3) GRiD
Source: (1) gov.uk
As we have already explored in this interactive guide, there is a known correlation between obesity, diabetes and high BMI – and poor patient outcomes when it comes to Covid-19 and other serious diseases.
Mental health
According to HealthHero Medical Director, Dr Chris Morris, the imposition of lockdown and social distancing, alongside the easing of restrictions, has placed immense strain on the mental health of our nation. In fact, a recent report from the British Medical Association (BMA) warned that the UK is facing a ‘mental health crisis’ if more support is not offered to the NHS.(1)
“If your mind does begin to run away with itself, try and practice some mindfulness exercises such as bringing your attention to your breathing, or the ‘five senses’ exercise where you take notice of five things that you can see, four things that you can feel, three things you can hear, two things you can smell, and one thing you can taste,” says Birgit Lundgren, Clinical Director of Mental Health at HealthHero. “Grounding yourself in the present will help you feel less anxious.”
Dr Morris explains that mental health support, which can be delivered remotely, has a significant role to play in treating conditions early, in order to mitigate the risk of more serious issues further down the line.
“The correlation between poor metabolic health, obesity and worsening outcomes for coronavirus has been identified, making people think about whether they are truly healthy,” Matt Janes, a nutrition and neuroscience expert for mental health and chronic disease tells COVER. “I've seen an increase in people wanting advice about which foods they should eat and which they should avoid, to help improve their metabolic health and their chances against the virus.”
Sources: (1) covermagazine.co.uk (2) globenewswire.com (3) ahajournals.org (4) ncbi.nlm.nih.gov (5) greatergood.berkeley.edu
Sleep and nutrition
The global market for antidepressants doubled to $28 billion in 2020, from $14 billion in 2019(2), something that Janes believes is demonstrating the impact Covid-19 is having upon our mental health. He’s also seen an increase in demand for his online mental health course, Thrive.
Nutrition, sleep and mindfulness all have a major impact upon our ability to cope with the stress of Covid-19, adds Janes. “The common denominator is the effect they have upon our autonomic nervous system.(3) When this is in balance, we thrive. When we're knocked out of autonomic balance, for example, by the psychological stress of Covid, we get ill. We can tune our nervous system back into balance by eating particular foods [see below]. If you're highly stressed, one branch of this system, the sympathetic, becomes activated, making it impossible to sleep. Only when the opposite branch, the parasympathetic, is engaged, can we sleep.”
Mindfulness
One way of achieving autonomic balance is through practicing mindfulness and meditation, which can activate the vagus nerve(4) and also offset the risk of inflammatory diseases.
Lundgren sees the restrictions of lockdown and external fears created by the coronavirus crisis as the perfect opportunity to incorporate mindfulness into a self-care routine.
She adds that humility and gratitude are at the heart of mindfulness and scientific evidence shows this has psychological benefits too. A study in 2017 involving professors at Indiana University, showed that out of 300 adults, mostly college students seeking mental health counselling services, those who wrote gratitude letters reported better mental health four weeks and 12 weeks after their writing exercise had ended.(5)
Work/life balance
According to Nick Blow, founder of Wellbeing Republic, finding ways to separate work and home life during lockdown has also been a challenge. “One of the things I see most often is that people unwittingly allow their day to dictate what they do. I would always recommend people think about how they structure their day,” he says.
“One of the key recommendations I make is for people to delineate the start and end of their workday, ensuring that once they are finished for the day, they pack away their laptop and work phone until the next morning, allowing them to switch-off and relax.”
He also warns that remote working is leading us towards an increasingly sedentary lifestyle, so urges building more regular breaks, walks and exercise such as yoga into our daily routines to improve productivity and maintain good mental health.
“For those experiencing heightened levels of anxiety or stress, there are also a variety of mindset tools I teach people in workshops and webinars which can transform the way they approach their mental health for the better – something as simple as writing worries or concerns down on a piece of paper and identifying what is within their sphere of influence and learning to let go of what is not, can be a huge help,” he adds.
Nutritionist Matt Janes’ top three tips
By reducing your intake of white bread, pasta, white rice, pizza, breakfast cereals, white flour and pastries, you will reduce inflammation in your gut and throughout your brain and body. You'll also reduce your likelihood of developing type II diabetes and obesity. Obesity is very simple, it's insulin-resistant carbohydrate disease
Birgit Lundgren’s top three self-care tips
Write down your own thoughts, feelings and emotions in your personal journal. Try to get in the habit of doing this for five minutes each day
Start setting and managing your boundaries. Remember, you can always choose your response and focus on the things that make you feel happy. Learn to get comfortable with saying “No”
Make exercise a daily non-negotiable. Think of it as a gift and not a chore. It will help you feel alive and energised in the moment
This has led to greater attention being given to sleep, diet and nutrition, while others are engaging more with exercise or incorporating mindfulness and meditation into their routines at this time. There is scientific basis to this too, so now we hear from specialists in their field about the benefits of keeping happy and healthy during the pandemic and beyond.
“The changes in our lifestyle are having a negative impact on many people, especially those not in relationships or having to work from home – social distancing is now social isolation for many; we are inherently social creatures. And on top of all of this, the threat to our jobs hangs over millions of people. The enforced changes and uncertainty are causing stress, anxiety, insomnia and depression. These are unpleasant in the short term and can be devastating to lives in the long term.”
“The links between poor physical health and mental health are well recognised and doctors actively look for mental health problems in their patients with chronic conditions such as diabetes, and poor health with enduring mental health conditions. This link holds true for any poor physical or mental health, and people at the moment are experiencing higher levels of mental health problems in particular and also of physical ill health, directly related to Covid-19.”
“A mindset reset is when we know we hit a wall in a marathon – we also know if we slow down, breathe and nourish ourselves, it will pass and we get a second wind of enthusiasm and drive. When we feel stressed, we tend to drop the nourishing activities and continue with the depleting activities. Think of a battery – depleting means draining! We can nourish ourselves by choosing energising activities, which will lift our mood, increase energy and help us feel calm and centred again.”
Never before has the need for self-care, safeguarding the vulnerable and the prevention of long-term illness been more important
Refined carbohydrates
PREVENTATIVE HEALTHCARE: PART 3
The global market for antidepressants doubled to $28 billion in 2020.
Take exercise
Make notes
Set boundaries
Clinical Director of Mental Health, HealthHero
Birgit Lundgren
“If your mind does begin to run away with itself, try and practice some mindfulness exercises. Grounding yourself in the present will help you feel less anxious”
Sugar
Both in its pure form and those found in processed food - check the ingredients of every food item you buy and if it includes sugar, don't buy it
Omega 6 cooking oils and butters
Including sunflower butter, margarine, sunflower oil, corn oil, canola/rapeseed oil, soybean oil, cottonseed oil, peanut oil, sesame oil, rice bran oil. These are highly inflammatory to the gut as well as being neurologically toxic. They have even been proven to cause autism
The benefits of a digital care health system have been long promoted by the industry, yet there has been a reluctance by both patients and providers. Roll-outs of virtual programmes in many areas remained limited or relegated to telehealth for appointments – until recently.
HealthHero provide access to a range of online platforms, through their specialist medical brands. This gives patients flexibility in seeing a professional, as well as potentially allowing individuals to see the same professional in follow-up appointments, ultimately improving provider-patient communication.
Indeed, the prominence of a virtual primary care ecosystem is fast becoming a reality for many that have private medical insurance or employee benefit schemes. In particular, employers have sought to promote the benefits of virtual GP and mental health services as well as other services such as diagnosis or physiotherapy from the comfort of their own home over the past year.
This need for alternative healthcare options is not just encouraging the use of high-quality video sessions with medical experts, but alongside at-home testing kits, online triage and even virtual and augmented reality, the processes to providing real time diagnoses and treatment plans using digital technology are now a reality.
The value of VR in medicine and healthcare by 2022
Source: The future of healthcare ebook
2017: $8.9m
2022: $285m
Healthcare practitioners use of digital tech post-pandemic
Source: Ipsos Covid-19 HCP Impact Study April 2020 /GMED/Ipsos Medical Crowdsourcing Covid-19 report
For providers there are benefits too, such as reduced overheads. Meanwhile, employers also benefit, with their staff needing to take less time off for appointments during work hours. Analytics from across the HealthHero group show that a fifth of its service users were seeking GP services outside of regular working hours with 25% of appointments held either before 9am or after 5pm. Furthermore, a fifth (21%) of all appointments to date in 2020 were held on a weekend, up from 18% on the same period last year.
According to a recent survey by The Business Group on Health, more than half (53%) of 122 employers surveyed said the implementation of more virtual care solutions were among their top healthcare benefit initiatives for 2021. Expanding access to mental-health resources was the second most common priority cited in the survey.
76%
Over 70% of HCPs in the EU report say they are doing more telephone/consultations during Covid-19
Digital healthcare has gained increasing prominence over the past year, as coronavirus placed pressure on face-to-face services and many individuals felt unsafe going to their GP surgery or hospital for diagnosis and treatment
Ben Littlewood-Hillsdon, Medical Director Clinical Content for Doctorlink (one of HealthHero’s brands) notes: “Digital access routes into healthcare are quickly evolving into a health speciality in themselves. They are highly regulated and monitored, it is an area of healthcare that truly is fully-auditable. They are able to be supplied and monitored 24/7 and each interaction with the user/patient leaves a contemporaneous record. They are highly reactive, adjusting to changes in healthcare guidelines and standards almost immediately.”
Unsurprisingly, the pandemic has propelled the notion of digital healthcare into the mainstream.
The benefits of such services are easy to see. Indeed, the HealthHero platform was built so that accessing a doctor was as simple as booking a taxi or ordering a delivery.
of physicians say they will do more virtual visits after the pandemic
70%
Mental health and wellbeing
Musculoskeletal
The thought of an app to assess your physical pain, therapy and rehabilitation can leave individuals feeling uneasy. Yet for many musculoskeletal (MSK) patients, chronic pain can mean face-to-face appointments are difficult to attend, either because of limited mobility or access to nearby services.
There has been a steep rise in the number of MSK conditions being reported since individuals started to work from home during the pandemic, and as a result virtual services and apps that focus on pain management and holistic care are being much more widely used.
For employers, the need to invest in such a service is now a key part of promoting a culture of wellbeing at home and work – MSK injuries represent 28% of all work injuries.
Yet the broadness of the term ‘wellbeing’ encompasses everything from mental wellbeing to financial wellbeing and it is essential that the services on offer to employees meet their needs. Particularly as one of the top reasons for short-term absences is stress and ill mental health.
According to HealthHero, to combat this, any service that aims to help employees must be focused on ‘in the moment’ support, structured counselling and specialist services able to tackle the range of challenges individuals may be facing.
The subject of wellbeing is a growing cause to which employers have been committed for years. But the Covid-19 pandemic has brought to the fore the full impact of loneliness, depression and for some, lockdown grief – some 69% of UK adults having reported feeling worried about the impact of Covid-19 on their lives.
Birgit Lundgren, Clinical Director of Mental Health at HeathHero says: “We are currently seeing an increase in calls, which can be seen as positive, as people are reaching out when they need support for their mental health. On the less positive side, it shows us how difficult the last year has been for so many people. Whether it is just one conversation or a number of structured counselling sessions, it is important that each individual has the time to engage and benefit from a positive experience, on their way to recovery.”
A report by Wealth at Work found that more than half (53%) of employers agree they have a level of responsibility for their employees’ wellbeing. Research by Littler of 750 European employers stated 90% of employers across Europe had taken positive steps to look after the mental health and wellbeing of their employees during the pandemic.
HealthHero 3-phased approach to online triage
– –
Most symptom assessment / checkers stop at this point
Symptom Assessment
Accuity Monitor
Referral Router
For many providers, online triage is the only tool they will need to help diagnose or treat their patients. The tool is helping to transform the way they provide healthcare and is helping them to make the shift from a demands-based service to a needs-based primary care service – an important distinction that can at times be forgotten in large-scale medical settings.
HealthHero’s own digital triage service is brought to life partly through Doctorlink, which focuses on software that helps support clinicians to make decisions or tell patients the next step in their care pathway. It also offers video and phone consultations. Since the start of the pandemic, HealthHero’s digital platforms have seen its active user base increase by 161%, and the number of GP services using the platform has tripled as well.
Making a digital healthcare system that is easy to use and flexible for individuals is only half of the solution.
A digital app allows patients to input their symptoms and offers a range of services, including the option to book an appointment with a professional at a time and place (virtually) to suit them.
Whilst this primary step of enabling two people to talk to each other remotely is useful as it takes the friction away from the patient’s perspective, from a clinician’s perspective, they still have to spend the same amount of time on appointments.
Littlewood-Hillsdon explains: “It takes less time but is also more effective. In some cases it may be better to send a questionnaire and wait for a response, if the patient would prefer not to talk to a doctor. Or it could be even more discreet, and they can just use a chat facility rather than be on the phone or video. We are providing all those tools to fundamentally alter how healthcare is consumed and delivered. What you want, where you want it, how you want it.”
From symptom assessing to virtual treatment
The virtual primary care ecosystem in action
Online triage
Determines the "What?" Outcome is a clinical logic based assessment of the likely cause of the symptoms
Determines the "When?" Outcome is ensuring the correct level of care intervention within the safest timeframe
Determines the "Where?" Outcome is the best available location for care
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View HealthHero's 3-phased approach to online triage
Providing ‘in the moment’ support
Managing - and preventing - injuries at work and home
HealthHero notes, however, that the services on offer in this area must go further, incorporating a focus on not just managing injuries at work and home, but reducing them too, in order to boost the health and productivity of employees.
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– Determines the "What?" – Outcome is a clinical logic based assessment of the likely cause of the symptoms
– Determines the "When?" – Outcome is ensuring the correct level of care intervention within the safest timeframe
– Determines the "Where?" – Outcome is the best available location for care
The benefits of VAT in insurance
*(that’s value-added tools)
Why are additional services, such as mental wellbeing tools, such a crucial aspect of protection and health insurance policies?
Claire: The Covid-19 virus has demonstrated, very well, the need for additional benefits and they have really come into their own this year. As a result, conversations about them have changed over the last few months.
Ian: Added-value services should become synonymous with all types of life and health insurance. Health insurance especially so, because a client does not see health insurance as compensation for loss (life, home, car) but a membership to manage their healthcare needs. So added-value services help enhance this concept by making us use a more regular activity via digital GPs etc.
David: The protection and insurance industry has long classed these as ‘added value’ services but today we find ourselves in a world whereby these are integral and essential benefits for the majority of these products.
When and how is the best way to bring up added-value services with clients, whether they are employers or individual customers?
Claire: They should form part of the overall conversations when you are understanding clients’ needs. What is important to them in a private medical insurance (PMI) or cash plan policy? What are the challenges they face with employee health and wellbeing? How has the pandemic impacted them? All of these standard fact find questions should mean an intermediary talks about all the benefits on a PMI or cash plan and not just the core ones.
Angela: Fact finding is the best time to introduce added-value services to clients. A great way to start the conversation is to ask what their understanding of protection is in general, or if they have existing policies, what do those policies do for them? Not only will this prompt discussion around life, critical illness, and income protection, but it will give the opportunity to explain the added-value services that so many clients will be unaware of.
Ian: First and foremost, we try to understand the client’s motive for buying PMI and then link questions and answers to that motive. We have to fact find and ask ‘do you have access to a digital 24/7 GP or do you only use your local community GP?’ Price presentation added-value services should be built into your policy proposition, as these are key policy benefits.
David: At the earliest opportunity! “Know your client” and their pain points or concerns so that you can sell the problem you’re trying to resolve not the product. We’re fortunate in the UK to have a world leading healthcare system with the NHS and free at point of use.
What challenges do you face with regards to talking about added-value services during the advice process? How do you overcome these?
Angela: The difficulty advisers have, when explaining added-value services to clients, is that the offerings vary so much from provider to provider. There simply aren’t enough hours in the day to do them justice. I believe a generic approach, giving them a flavour of what sort of benefits are available, and asking what’s important to them, is a good way to overcome this and may even narrow down the field.
Ian: Digital GPs, mental health helplines, second opinion services, and musculoskeletal and chronic condition support are ‘health’ services, so I feel that these are more relevant and more easily included in the policy proposition. The main challenges could be duplication as they may have this elsewhere or they may be purchasing it directly via cash plans, Babylon or via a London private clinic.
Claire: It shouldn’t be a challenge if the intermediary is doing the right sort of fact find with the client. If a client says they are only interested in the core benefits, fact find questions would confirm if this actually is the case and I suspect in most instances it isn’t.
Angela: A few years ago, one of the best protection writers I know told me that he never told his clients about the added-value services available on the policies he recommended to them. This really saddened me; what a waste.
David: I’ve worked with a number of advisers over the years, and they all face the same challenge – confusion and saturation. The market is inundated with providers offering an array of benefits and services which can prove problematic for advisers trying to provide robust, accurate and compliant advice. The very nature of insurance is that most customers buy the products hoping they’ll never need to claim.
Consultant, Passion for Protection
Covid has accelerated the adoption, driven the trust and confidence, and shifted behaviours across the insurer, medical professional and user experience. Insurers want to deliver tangible value, early intervention, holistic health and claims control – all of which can be met and supported by these services.
Virtual GPs, online consultations and mental health support have all been needed and used massively over last few months and this is why they play a crucial role. For employers, online and virtual appointments with professionals/counsellors offer a very cost efficient way of providing support and should reduce absenteeism.
We also use welcome calls to reiterate how to get value from the policy and use text messages to send a link to a mobile page to promote added-value services that an insurer offers.
However, this does result in people not realising the full extent and value they could enjoy from their insurance contracts, especially when their primary reason for purchase is likely to be driven by a different need than value added services.
Additionally, the ever-growing volume of content and information we have to communicate to the client. We need to get better and better at presenting policies digitally – a PDF brochure just does not cut it now.
Tip, even if added-value services aren’t discussed at outset, making sure clients know the full scope of the benefits available on their policies is undoubtedly in their best interests.
A reliance on the NHS and an expectation that the state will always provide means that these hugely beneficial services such as virtual GPs and mental help support, become diminished and devalued if this is not clearly explained and reiterated to the customer at every opportunity.
Lastly, the most powerful way to convey the value of these benefits is to be an advocate, use them yourself as an adviser for you and your loved ones, and to talk from experience when discussing this with your clients.
The protection and insurance industry has long classed these as ‘added value’ services but today we find ourselves in a world whereby these are integral and essential benefits for the majority of these products
Angela Davidson
Commercial Director - Insurance and HealthTech, HealthHero
David Jennings
Commercial Director, Assured Futures
Ian Sawyer
Managing Director, Premier Choice Group
Claire Ginnelly
The additional health services available through insurance policies are nothing new, however the impact of the pandemic has increased their value significantly. Here, advice experts discuss the difficult art of bringing up added-value tools and services when facing clients and the key challenges they often encounter.
MEET THE EXPERTS
“All of these standard fact find questions should mean an intermediary talks about all the benefits on a PMI or cash plan and not just the core ones”
“The protection and insurance industry has long classed these as ‘added value’ services but today we find ourselves in a world whereby these are integral and essential benefits for the majority of these products”
Commercial Director, HealthHero
“A few years ago, one of the best protection writers I know told me that he never told his clients about the added-value services available on the policies he recommended to them. This really saddened me; what a waste”
“We need to get better and better at presenting policies digitally – a PDF brochure just does not cut it now”
