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Originally published in The Tennessean, April 2025

In today’s world, digital tools are essential to serve customers well. But this wasn’t always the case. Consumers’ expectations for digital experiences shifted tremendously after the COVID-19 pandemic. People are more comfortable with websites and mobile apps and started expecting more, especially when it comes to health care. 

Now, patients want the option to visit their doctor in the comfort of their living room. They also want to manage their health plan as easily as they check their email. And many prefer personalized care and communication through a simple text message. 

At one time, these scenarios were simply a futuristic dream. But this shift clearly underscored the essential role that digital solutions play in meeting the evolving needs of consumers, especially when it comes to their health outcomes.  

For many companies, evolving to meet rapidly changing consumer expectations remains a challenge and requires a significant investment of time and talent.  

Here at BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, we know part of our role is to help our members get the care they need.

So, this shift presented an opportunity to get to know our customers’ expectations in greater detail.  

Our customers were eager to share what they wanted from our digital tools. Their interest in how their digital experience could help them along their journey towards better health was loud and clear. 

Over the last three years, we’ve seen big changes in how our members interact with their providers and health insurance plan.

Telehealth usage has soared by an impressive 176%. This increase shows more people prefer remote consultations because they are convenient and safe, especially when balancing busy lives or during a personal health matter. 

Using mobile apps for self-service has also become the main way our members check claims and benefits. Members say they appreciate how easy it is to see if they’ve met their deductible or check the status of a prior authorization through their smartphones. This trend highlights the need for strong, user-friendly mobile apps that can handle many tasks efficiently. 

More and more of our members are turning to chat services for quick, real-time assistance without having to talk on the phone. This indicates the need for responsive and effective chat solutions that can address member queries promptly and accurately. Adoption of email and text messaging has also risen significantly across most of our customer segments, including seniors. 

What are some key findings from our research on what our members want from digital health tools? 

• They expect information to be easy to find and actions easy to take. We address this through user-centric design and conducting usability studies before releasing our designs. This ensures information is where users expect it to be, so they don’t have to search for frequently used features. 

• They want to choose how they hear from us. So, we provide a variety of digital channels. This includes email, text, push notifications, and in-app messaging, to meet members where they are. 

• They expect us to know them. They’ve asked us to send timely prompts when it’s time to get care. So, each message is customized to their health journey, ensuring a personalized experience. 

• Their data should be secure and safe from cyber threats. We use multi-factor authentication (MFA) with the goal of trying to ensure the right people access the right data, making password resets and username retrieval more streamlined. 

At BlueCross, it’s our job to help make health care more affordable for our members. Investing in good digital tools can enhance the user experience by streamlining access to information, facilitating convenient appointments, and offering personalized health prompts. 

This efficiency not only saves time for both patients and providers, but also lowers operational costs, which can be passed on as savings to our members. Simply put, secure and user-friendly digital tools help patients get timely care, ultimately leading to better health outcomes and quality of life.