Insurtech Program of the Year – Empowering cancer patients with CancerAid

In Australia, more people are beating cancer these days than ever before, with the latest government statistics indicating that 69% of all those diagnosed with the disease will survive it^[1]. And yet, while there have been huge improvements in the realms of patient engagement and management, there’s still no denying that discovering you have cancer can make for an incredibly scary and isolating.

In October 2018, AIA Australia (AIAA) became the first life insurer to partner with CancerAid, the most-used cancer support and management app in the country. Developed using the the latest evidence advanced by integrative oncology, the app marks a significant step forward in the long-pursued industry goal of providing personalised and patient-centric support, empowering those who’ve been diagnosed with the disease to more easily and efficiently understand their diagnosis, arrange their treatments, and communicate with their clinicians.

With results from our pilot program indicating a 39% improvement in the number of patients actively managing their health, we recently decided to roll out the CancerAid Coach Program across all of group claims with the view to incrementally rolling it out to our retail customers as well. Close to 150 of our customers have been referred to the program, with 28% progressing through to an occupational rehabilitation program. Incredibly, 5% have already returned to work – a number that we’re projecting will soon reach 25%.

[1]  Australian Government Institute of Health and Welfare –Cancer Data in Australia 26 July 2019