Howden is warning the industry to beware of “really crap” health and wellbeing apps as Siemens is calling for insurers and advisers to give employers more support on which ones to use.
Howden head of benefits strategy Steve Herbert also cautioned that health and wellbeing apps were not a universal solution and employers recommending poor ones to staff could face legal problems.
Speaking at the Laing Buisson Private Healthcare Summit, Herbert (pictured) said: “I do worry about apps. They are not the solution to everything, they are being vastly oversold in the market.
“There are some good apps, some bad apps and some really crap apps out there. If you as an employer promote those bad ones it will come back at you.
“So let’s not assume that apps are the solution to everything.”
Industry must help
Herbert was speaking after Siemens EMEA senior benefits consultant Nikki Roche told the audience it was increasingly difficult for employers to find the right apps and support for staff.
“As employers we are seeing a lot of peripheral providers coming along, particularly tech providers who think they’ve got a great tick box solution; menopause – there’s an app for that; fertility – there’s an app for that,” she said.
“I feel very strongly as an employer that I want solutions to all of those hot topics to be clinically backed with proven outcomes because as a business we want best return on investment and as a patient I do not want to be exploited and I don’t want to see any of my employees exploited.
“So I’m really looking to people in this sector please do help to provide those solutions, because I want to make sure that employees are get the best solutions.”