MINNEAPOLIS - (Business Wire) HealthPartners announced today that it has launched a mobile service for all smart phones, including iPhones, that allows users to easily map directions to, or call clinics, urgent care clinics or hospitals anywhere in the country. The mobile service which can be viewed at healthpartners.com/mobile also provides easy access to key HealthPartners phone numbers, including medical and dental appointments, free 24-hour CareLine nurse support, prescription refills, and member services through a “contact us” feature.
“Consumers want convenient access to the best care when they need it,” said Scott Aebischer, HealthPartners senior vice president for customer services and product innovation. “We’ve had an extremely positive response to our Online Patient Services, which give patients online access to test results, immunization records and the ability to make appointments via the Web, and to our health plan online explanation of benefits," said Aebischer. "Mobile access to health care information is critical to improving the overall experience we want to achieve with our customers."
HealthPartners has developed additional secure, encrypted services for smart phones that will be tested in early 2010. One example is a program that allows patients to communicate directly with their HealthPartners care manager through secure, two-way messaging. This will provide care, tailored to the unique needs of the patient, via a virtual connection, resulting in a more continuous communication and monitoring of the patient’s needs. HealthPartners will test this program with women who have high-risk pregnancies and patients with chronic illnesses who have been discharged from the hospital.
More than 475,000 members are currently using HealthPartners Online Services. With the additional mobile-friendly features and the explosion of smart phone use that number is expected to increase significantly. For more information on HealthPartners Online Services, visit http://www.healthpartners.com/portal/7003.html.
About HealthPartners
Founded in 1957, the HealthPartners (www.healthpartners.com) family of health care companies serves 1.25 million medical and dental health plan members nationwide. For the fourth year in a row, HealthPartners is rated one of the best commercial health plans in the nation by U.S. News & World Report, NCQA’s “America’s Best Health Plans 2008.”
HealthPartners
Joe Dangor
Office: 952-883-5223
Cell: 612-201-4511
joe.a.dangor@healthpartners.com
