Bupa Global & UK has partnered with mental health social media platform Just Ask A Question (JAAQ) in a six-month trial aimed at increasing access to online health advice.
During the trial Bupa Health Clinics managing director Dr Arun Thiyagarajan and Bupa GP and Women’s Health clinical lead Dr Samantha Wild will provide advice on mental health and wider men’s and women’s health topics via the JAAQ platform.
JAAQ is a free, online platform using voice recognition and artifical intelligence (AI) to provide a safe space where users can ask doctors, experts and those with lived experiences questions on mental health topics at any time of day, without judgement.
Dr Thiyagarajan said: “At Bupa we are constantly looking for ways to innovate and harness new technologies, in order to address needs of our customers.
“Our latest research shows us that many people – young people especially – prefer to get their information online.
“It’s really important that people are able to access credible, personalised advice for a health issue that’s worrying them, so we’re really pleased that our health experts are providing that advice through JAAQ.
“Early diagnosis improves outcomes, so I’d urge anyone who’s struggling with a mental or physical health issue to speak to a health professional – either on the phone, via video or face to face”.
JAAQ founder Danny Gray said: “We’re so pleased to have Bupa as a partner, helping people to access free, credible advice from trained health experts.
“It’s really important to us that people are able to get answers to the questions that they have and receive the help they need.”
Bupa said the new partnership formed part of it’s wider digital transformation.