Zelis Updates ‘SmartShopper’ Healthcare Engagement Tool

Zelis has debuted a tool designed to help consumers better navigate the healthcare landscape.

The healthcare technology provider on Wednesday (March 6) introduced SmartShopper Propel, an addition to its existing SmartShopper program and “an omnichannel member engagement and activation solution” it says helps health plans support better habits among its members.

“With SmartShopper Propel, we are not just presenting members with arbitrary options,” Heather Cox, Zelis president of insights and empowerment, said in the announcement. “We are partnering with health plans to help them reach their member activation goals by creating personalized engagement and incentives tailored to the unique needs of each member.”

According to the release, the solution encourages members to take steps in keeping with their health plans’ programs for improved health, reduced administrative costs, and member engagement. It offers health education and support, using a “multi-channel communication engagement strategy” so members can get information as needed.

Joint research by PYMNTS Intelligence and Rectangle Health has found that digital healthcare management and payment options can help providers better their relationships with patients while also ensuring that they get paid.

“Doctors and dentists alike are adopting these solutions at a time when much of the business end of healthcare remains mired in paper invoicing and unpaid debt,” PYMNTS wrote recently, citing the report “Connected Healthcare: What Consumers Want From Their Healthcare Customer Experiences.”

Additional PYMNTS Intelligence data has shown that consumer interest in a unified digital platform for managing healthcare information and medical insurance benefits is something that is well established across generations, with two-thirds of baby boomers and seniors expressing interest in unified healthcare platforms.

“On the provider side, reports show a renewed focus on digital transformation, with one analyst saying that ‘a powerful wave of modernization’ is transforming the industry,” PYMNTS wrote late last month.

“We believe the healthcare financial journey from care to payment is broken,” Zelis President of Payments Optimization Yusuf Qasim told PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster during a panel discussion in 2022. “I’ve been through that journey where sometimes I have a bill, but I know it’s not a bill, and when do I pay it? I don’t know where to go.”