UnitedHealthcare improves access to health care with DocGPS App of Apple’s iPhone

UnitedHealthcare is helping improve access to health care by putting its vast network of doctors, clinics, hospitals and other health care services on a new app just introduced on Apple’s iPhone.

The new DocGPS App for Apple Inc.’s popular mobile device enables users to tailor their search to their specific health plan and locate nearby doctors, clinics and hospitals within the UnitedHealthcare network using the GPS functionality of iPhone 3G and 3GS. The app can make searches on 23 types of health care facilities and 58 types of physician specialties.

After locating a doctor or hospital, the application can then show the office location on a map, provide detailed directions, and enable the user to call the medical professional or facility with a single tap on the search result.

DocGPS is ideal for individuals on the road who are not familiar with health care providers in their area, such as families traveling on vacation or professionals on business trips.

DocGPS also works with first-generation iPhones running 2.0 software or higher, enabling users to search UnitedHealthcare’s health plan networks by zip code, or city and state. The application is available for download free of charge from the App Store on iPhone or at www.itunes.com/appstore/.

“We are putting a powerful tool in the hands of consumers so they can make more informed health care decisions whether they are at home, at work or on the run,” said Dawn Owens, CEO of OptumHealth, a UnitedHealth Group company and lead developer of the new technology for UnitedHealthcare customers. “The new DocGPS App reinforces UnitedHealth Group’s ability to deliver innovative technologies that help make it easier for millions of Americans to understand and access health care.”

DocGPS is UnitedHealthcare’s latest consumer-friendly innovation to modernize, simplify and make transparent health care information. An October 2009 study by CTIA-The Wireless Association showed nearly eight in 10 Americans (78 percent) said they are interested in receiving health care services via their mobile devices.

http://www.uhc.com/