BY ANNE PALMERINE, VP OF MEMBER SERVICESM
As Vice President of Member Services, I work closely with my team, clinical leaders, and operational insurance leaders to make sure accessing UPMC Health Plan benefits is as convenient as possible—and that we are doing everything we can to help keep you and your loved ones healthy. Our efforts include giving you the option and ability to access care and support from the convenience of your home with our virtual care offerings: Children’s AnywhereCare, RxWell, and our new Virtual Concierge.
Offering convenience is especially important as the effects of COVID-19 and its variants continue to impact how we live, work, and learn. Moreover, we have seen increases in children getting sick from COVID-19; children have comprised about one-quarter of new COVID cases each week according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. Fortunately, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has now approved vaccinations for children aged five and older. Parents and guardians interested in connecting their children to these available vaccines can contact a member of my Member Services team to schedule these vaccinations.
Children’s AnywhereCare
Children have ongoing health care needs that may not be related to COVID-19. With that in mind, I would like to remind you that, as a UPMC Health Plan member, you have in-network access to world-class health care providers remotely—as well as in person—for your children. Specifically, Children’s AnywhereCare (AWC) telehealth services allow patients to be seen by a provider at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC. Using Children’s AWC can help you avoid potential wait times and help avoid unnecessary emergency department visits for non-urgent care. For many UPMC Health Plan members, these visits have lower cost-sharing than an in-person pediatric visit.
RxWell™
RxWell is a cutting-edge mobile app for stress, anxiety, weight management, and more. RxWell is a groundbreaking digital behavioral health app developed by UPMC Health Plan that not only offers real-time coping techniques to users, but is also enhanced with personal health coaching to aid improvement. Preliminary results of this project indicated 76 percent of app users saw a reduction in anxiety and 67 percent of app users saw reduced depression.
RxWell combines proven techniques with support from a health coach. Additional programs focus on depression, nutrition, physical activity, and tobacco cessation. Each program offers self-guided activities that can help you calm your body and mind in minutes while working on making healthy lifestyle changes that last.
Amazon Alexa/Google Home Virtual Health Care Concierge
My team is on call to help you with any of your needs. And now these award-winning concierge-level services are enhanced by our the UPMC Health Plan “Virtual Concierge.”
The Virtual Concierge leads voice assistant users through a verbal chatbot-style experience to receive quick and useful information, including:
- Member benefits and coverage (ID card help, preventive coverage)
- Clear explanations of insurance terminology
- How to access services, including UPMC’s AnywhereCare telehealth mobile application
- Orientation services for new UPMC Health Plan members
- COVID-19 vaccine information
The UPMC Health Plan Virtual Concierge is available for Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. Amazon users can enable the UPMC Health Plan skill, then open the skill with a prompt such as, “Alexa, ask UPMC Health Plan about the COVID-19 vaccine.” Or “Alexa, ask UPMC Health Plan to welcome me.” Members with a Google device can access the service by prompting their smart speaker with, “Hey Google, talk to UPMC Health Plan.”
Helping you and your loved ones access high quality care in a way that is convenient and cost-effective is a priority for us, whether that care is in person or provided via safe, convenient telehealth platforms. I hope you’ll consider taking advantage of these resources. And, as always, reach out to my Member Services team with any questions about your health care.
Author: Amaury Abreu
