Your smartphone and your health
According to the Pew Research Center, 95 percent of Americans have cellphones, and 77 percent have smartphones. That’s more than 250 million people with smartphones. This means that most of you reading this have one of these amazing pieces of digital technology in your purse or pocket, and chances are you have already been using it or thought about using it to monitor your health, whether that means using an app to count your steps, or logging in to a full-fledged healthcare app.

Not to be outpaced by these developments, Brethren Insurance Services is offering, as part of its health insurance, a program called Sharecare. This is a wellness rewards program with a health tracking app that looks at your daily activity and stress levels to determine how healthy you are, and to give you resources for improving your health.
The Sharecare platform does tests and analyses to measure your “RealAge” — your age in terms of the state of your health, rather than your actual age. Then it makes recommendations for lowering this RealAge — meaning things you can do to improve your health and help you live longer. It will track your steps and offer you an incentive with a personalized message that tells you how many steps you have for the day. Or it will tell you of a new diet for weight loss, or remind you of biometric screenings being scheduled by your health insurance company.

The Sharecare app will track your blood pressure, cholesterol, smoke exposure, stress level, and alcohol consumption, as well as your steps and overall fitness. It will record your vitals over time, your various health conditions, your medications, and your lab tests. It will evaluate your progress and you can earn “Green Days,” which are the health currency used to measure your progress. Each Green Day you earn reduces your RealAge . Not everyone reading this has health insurance with Brethren Insurance Services, but it doesn't matter if you are a member of another insurance program — anyone can take advantage of the services offered through Sharecare. The day will likely come when using your phone in this way will be routine for everyone.

If you are a BIS client and have questions, contact Jeremiah Thompson at Brethren Insurance Services, at 800-746-1501, ext. 3368, or jthompson@cobbt.org .