Life insurance technology with an impact on healthcare providers

Life insurance is something that healthcare providers would prefer not to deal with. After all, it has little medical relevance as most insurers require a doctor’s visit before approving the application. That could change soon, however.

If you need a refresher on life insurance, this article from lemonade insurance Explains very well what life insurance covers. This information may not be known to people who have no family members. Even those who have survivors do not always know how much insurance to take out or whether they need life insurance at all.

The idea that technology will affect life insurance may sound strange, but it is already a reality. Here’s how this will affect healthcare providers.

Smart health

In the past decade, real-time personal health tracking has become widespread. Almost everyone has a pedometer, even if it’s just their phone’s internal hardware. Watches and other devices that track heart rate have spread across the world.

The data collected on these devices can help doctors assess the health of patients. This is one aspect where technology affects the role of healthcare providers in life insurance. Insurers are trying to force doctors to assess health and lifestyle based on this data.

But it goes beyond the initial assessment. Life insurance is changing to become more participatory.

Insurance gamification

Health insurers around the world have found ways gamify sport and lifestyle decisions. They reward members for exercising a certain number of times per week, completing a certain number of steps each day, and even eating items from healthy menus.

This gamification also applies to life insurance. The reality for insurers is that a member’s health is for their benefit. As such, they use similar techniques to promote healthy lifestyles.

Monitoring member lifestyle through smart devices is easier than ever and members can choose whether to sign up. The insurer can then assign goals to them and provide rewards for achieving those goals. These rewards can be lower premiums. Alternatively, after a prescribed deadline, they can add funds to a no-compensation payment.

How does this affect healthcare providers? Insurance companies can further evaluate members by rewarding them for conducting research. Using technology, they can ask providers to consent to the disclosure of sensitive medical information.

From today’s perspective, this gamification of insurance can lead to positive results. The downside, however, is that in the future they may instead start punishing poor health. This could put people at a disadvantage who do not have the resources or the time to maintain a high level of fitness.

When patients ask their insurers for medical information, it is worth advising them of the dangers involved. While they can benefit both healthily and financially, they can also lose simply due to illness.

Diagnostic conflicts

Another way that gamification of the life insurance industry can impact health care providers is by obscuring the definition of good health. In the internet age we already have patients who diagnose themselves based on incorrect research. It can be even more dangerous for insurance companies to decide what they consider healthy.

The reason for this is that insurance companies don’t really need their members to stay healthy. On the contrary, life insurance companies benefit from members staying alive. Usually the two things are closely related, but that’s not always the case. People shouldn’t make medical decisions based on insurance premiums.

Insurance company interference in healthcare is nothing new. After all, they already have an impact on the prices of services and the choice of providers. They make it difficult for hospitals to discharge doctors who commit medical errors.

But as technology bridges the gap between human health and actionable data, the line between insurance and healthcare providers could become blurred.

Life insurance technology is improving, which is good for many people. It can even lead to better health. However, we need to be careful about how much impact it has on our medical practice.

Healthcare jobs