The number of people using apps to access remote health and wellbeing services continues to rise steeply amid NHS delays.
Data from Unum shows there has been a 266 per cent increase in user interactions with its Help@hand app, and a 91 per cent increase in registrations over the past year, compared to the previous 12 month period.
However it says that not all of these interactions relate to medical care — with over half (53 per cent) relating to ‘practical’ life management services.
Its latest report shows that there are now 350,000 people registered for health and wellbeing support via this app. Unum said that in the twelve months since July 2023, 138,243 consultations have been booked through the Help@hand app. Most of these sessions (42 per cent) were remote GP appointments, whilst 40 per cent related to mental health.
Help@hand was launched five years ago — and was one of the first free digital health apps to be offered through an income protection policy. It is now available on Unum’s other group risk products.
Being launched in 2019 it saw a large increase in use following the Covid pandemic. But Unum says that usage has continued to grow since then.
Unum chief marketing officer John Hyde says: “We’ve seen employee engagement rise significantly in the past year. Interestingly, we are also seeing a significant number of employees using the app to take a proactive and preventative approach to health and wellbeing, with more than 8,500 users seeking out lifestyle, nutrition or personal training sessions.”
Hyde says Unum was looking to build on the success of Help@hand by expanding the service further and delivering better care for clients and their employees.
