Oct 17 2014
Henry Ford Health System Innovations is supporting the Walgreens Balance Rewards App Challenge to find new mobile applications that incentivize healthy behavior and improve disease management.
“To better manage the overall health of our patients, we need to start looking at ways we can engage patients every day and in the places they visit most often.”
The Challenge aims to drive healthy behavior through incentives, making it easier and more affordable for patients to manage their conditions, and for doctors and their preferred Walgreens pharmacy to better engage in a patient’s overall health and recovery.
The Walgreens Balance Rewards App Challenge encourages the integration of Walgreens’ Balance® Rewards application program interface (API). This will allow users to earn Balance Rewards points for making healthy lifestyle choices.
These rewards can be redeemed at participating Walgreens for merchandise, both in-store and online.
The rise of digital health technology is creating new possibilities for patient engagement, providing patients with easier, safer and less expensive options to manage their chronic conditions and stay healthy.
“We can no longer look at health care as something that is just conducted in a hospital setting,” says Mark Coticchia, VP and Chief Innovation Officer of Henry Ford Health System. “To better manage the overall health of our patients, we need to start looking at ways we can engage patients every day and in the places they visit most often.”
“This is why it is so exciting to be partnered with Walgreens to attract ideas in ways that together we can revolutionize patient engagement.”
Third-party app developers can access contest details and submit an integrated app entry by visiting the Balance Rewards App Challenge page through Nov. 28. Winners will be announced during the Walgreens session at the upcoming mHealth Summit 2014 in Washington D.C., Dec. 7-11. Categories and awards are as follows:
- Walgreens Best Overall App Integration Award ($7,000)
- Henry Ford Health System Patient Engagement Award ($3,000)
- People's Choice for Best App Integration Award ($3,000)