Apple and Aetna have announced the launch of a new app, called Attain, that will provide the insurer’s members personalized goals, track their daily activity levels, recommend healthy actions, and ultimately reward them for taking these actions to improve their well-being.
Reward opportunities include the ability for eligible users to earn their Apple Watch through their participation in the program, according to officials in an announcement this week.
The app launch builds on a three-year collaboration between Aetna, which merged with CVS Health in November, and the tech giant Apple, that began with a subsidy program in which 90 percent of participants reported a health benefit from their use of Apple Watch. Officials attest that the Attain app is the first of its kind—designed specifically to offer users a personalized experience that combines their health history with the power of the Apple Watch to help them achieve better health and well-being.
What’s more, after users have joined Attain, they will have the additional option to share their app’s program data and health history with Apple, enabling Apple and Aetna to collaborate. And through analytics and machine learning, “the collaboration will lead to new features for Attain, offering more personalized recommendations designed to give greater context and decrease barriers to healthcare,” officials said.
According to the announcement, the Attain app consists of four main pillars:
- Achieve activity goals: Attain provides participants with personalized daily and weekly activity goals, based on their age, sex and weight. Attain's definition of activity is not restricted to steps taken, and includes other activities measured by the Apple Watch, such as swimming and yoga.
- Sustain everyday health: Attain offers weekly challenges, where participants earn points for taking actions that improve their overall health and well-being. Challenges may include getting more sleep, increasing mindfulness and improving nutrition.
- Receive personalized health notifications for key health moments: Attain recommends personalized healthy actions based on an Aetna member's health history as well as their Apple Watch sensor data. Created in collaboration with a team of doctors, the recommendations are based on clinical guidelines. At launch, healthy action notifications will include reminders to meet activity goals, get vaccinations such as the flu shot, and notifications to refill medication prescription, for example.
- Earn rewards: As they complete their activity goals and recommended healthy actions, participants earn reward points.
"We believe that people should be able to play a more active role in managing their well-being. Every day, we receive emails and letters from people all over the world who have found great benefit by incorporating Apple Watch into their lives and daily routines," Jeff Williams, Apple's COO, said in a statement. "As we learn over time, the goal is to make more customized recommendations that will help members accomplish their goals and live healthier lives."
Participation requires that Aetna members have an iPhone 5S or later and an Apple Watch Series 1 or later. Apple’s latest watch version can take an echocardiogram, and according to recent reports, the company has also engaged in discussions with multiple private Medicare insurers about subsidizing the cost of the Apple Watch for at-risk people over 65 years old.
Apple is also working with other major insurers as well. It was recently announced that UnitedHealthcare Motion, an employer-sponsored wellness program, is telling its participants they can get a free Apple Watch if they meet the insurer’s daily walking goals over a six-month period. For this initiative, program participants can use the Apple Watch to see how they are tracking against the program’s three daily goals—frequency, intensity, and tenacity—helping integrate physical activity and engagement with their health plan.
Importantly, officials noted that the this is a completely voluntary program in which members determine what information they want to share and can discontinue using Attain at any time.
"From fitness enthusiasts, to casual gym-goers, to parents who get all their exercise by keeping up with their kids - we designed Attain for everyone," said Alan Lotvin, M.D., executive vice president of Transformation for CVS Health. "We understand that you don't need to be a personal trainer or work out several hours a day to be healthier. We're designing Attain to be personalized and clinically relevant to where each individual is in their health journey. This is an ambitious challenge, and we will adapt and improve over time to create the best experience for our members."
