Digital health platform provider HealthTap expects its new partnership with Bupa, an international health insurance and care company, to create personalized, digital healthcare experiences for Bupa members that raise their quality of care.

For HealthTap, a Palo Alto, Calif., telehealth company with a network of 108,000 physicians, the deal is an opportunity for international expansion.

By connecting their member’s personal health records to HealthTap’s HOPES operating system and artificial intelligence-based applications, Bupa can move digital health care to the core of the healthcare experience, says HealthTap CEO and founder Ron Gutman.

Doing so will enable Bupa, an international healthcare insurer based in the United Kingdom and with operations in in Australia, the U.K., Spain, Hong Kong, Chile, Brazil, Poland, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, India and the U.S., to match its members to a physician through its mobile app or website that can provide the appropriate care based on their described condition, health history and preferences. Bupa members will also be able to perform a number of related tasks, such as scheduling doctor and health services appointments online and connecting with physicians via telehealth.

The two companies have already been working together the past year to help Bupa members find local doctors within Bupa’s network, schedule physiotherapy, immunizations and doctor appointments at local clinics, and connect residents in aged care facilities operated by Bupa with doctors by video. Additional features to be made available to Bupa members have yet to be announced, Gutman says.

Bupa has 16.5 million health insurance customers and provides healthcare to 10.6 million patients globally through its clinics and hospitals. The company also services about 22,000 residents through assisted living and nursing homes.

“Through our platform, Bupa members will be able to access in-network providers and services, such as viewing their personal health records or lab results, filling prescriptions and accessing relevant content about their condition, all in one place,” Gutman says. “By piecing all these services together, we can help Bupa provide a more comprehensive and convenient health experience that improves care.”

HealthTap’s artificial intelligence-powered apps help patients narrow down a possible condition and how best to go about seeking treatment. The company’s Dr. AI app, for example, helps patients put their described symptoms into context by first reviewing the patients’ health records to determine whether they need to consult a physician by video, voice or text or go to the emergency room. Dr. AI launched in 2017.

Integrating digital healthcare into the core patient experience can not only help improve the quality of care, but create operating efficiencies that drive down the cost of care, according to Evelyn Bourke, Bupa Group CEO.

“Our partnership with HealthTap will deliver innovative healthcare solutions to improve the lives of Bupa customers globally,” Bourke says. “Together we bring digital health and care experiences to our customers, while saving costs and delivering efficiencies for healthcare providers.”

Bupa will roll out HealthTap’s platform on a country-by-country basis. Health insurance accounts for about 70% of its business. In addition, the company operates clinics, dental centers, hospitals and care homes.

Gutman says the partnership with Bupa is the first of many such deals HealthTap expects to strike in the coming year. The company is in talks with insurance companies, hospitals systems and provider networks about leveraging its operating system and artificial intelligence-based apps, he says.

Patients in 174 countries use HealthTap’s platform to connect with more than 108,000 doctors across 147 specialties via video, voice, and text on any mobile device or personal computer.

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