Legal & General Group Protection has partnered with long-term condition management support service CONNECTPlus, from Health and Care Innovations (HCI).

The evidence-based app will play a central role in the insurer’s personalised multidisciplinary team (MDT) pathways, designed to help individuals to take control of their condition and improve their health, both at home and in the work environment.

Available to all insured employees and their immediate family, CONNECTPlus helps support the day-to-day self-management of the following six long-term conditions: Stroke, Cancer, Multiple Sclerosis, Type 2 Diabetes, Long Covid and Rheumatoid Arthritis. Bringing a number of conditions into one place also helps meet the needs of those with more than one long-term condition, says Legal & General.

CONNECTPlus was co-designed with NHS clinicians and patients – and used in various NHS Foundation Trusts – with a view to having the right tools in place to help people actively manage their own care. The potential benefits of self-management include: increased control, saving of time and money, reduced anxiety and improved outcomes.

Features of the CONNECTPlus app include:

• Health trackers and scores to monitor pain or symptoms, enabling and informing follow-ups with the individual’s regular GP or specialist;
• Condition specific – and clinically approved – patient information videos, articles and blogs, including frequently asked questions from others with the same condition;
• Medication reminders to support treatment regimes;
• A diary to help with dosage information, plus hospital or GP appointment information and reminders.

Legal & General says the app also brings benefits to Line Managers and HR, helping them understand a condition and its impact on life- and work- ability, so they can better support their employees. This includes making informed reasonable adjustments in line with the Equality Act 2010, where required.

Around 15 million people in England have a long-term condition. Consequently, this represents an aspect of workplace support that requires more focus according to the government’s response last year to consultations on proposals to reduce ill-health related job loss.

Vanessa Sallows, claims & governance director at Legal & General Group Protection, said: “We’re really excited about the partnership with HCI. After many years of advocating – and evidencing – the benefits to people and business of personalised MDT pathways, we are always looking for ways to enhance those pathways, focusing squarely on taking a holistic and people-centred approach.

“The addition of the CONNECTPlus app helps us further embed digital health into the customer experience, extending MDT support and enabling a way to support employees – plus their immediate families, HR and Line Managers – in the kinds of daily decisions that impact outcomes.”

Richard Wyatt-Haines, director at HCI, added: “Sadly, there are increasing numbers of people living with a long-term condition and nearly one in four of us have two or more conditions.

“This can be tough for each individual, their families and the people they work with. Thanks to the scale of Legal & General, CONNECTPlus can now make life easier for thousands more people across the country in a really simple way, and on one simple digital platform.””