Best Buy targets older adults with mobile health offering

Best Buy is providing a full array of health and safety services via Apple Watch.

The consumer electronics giant is continuing its expansion into the healthcare services market with a new plan geared toward users of the Lively app on Apple Watch. Lively is provided by Great Call, a connected health technology company Best Buy acquired in 2018. 

Customers with an Apple Watch 4 or newer who have a Preferred Health and Safety plan on the Lively app gain access to an urgent response service, which connects them to trained agents who can help in emergencies, big or small, 24/7, via an urgent response button they can add to their Apple Watch face. Agents can assist with everything from medical emergencies to sending help if a user has car trouble.

The plan also has an urgent care feature that allows the user to speak to a registered nurse or board-certified doctor without an appointment, 24/7, with no insurance plan or co-pay needed. In addition, the Great Call Link app for friends and family keeps them informed about their loved one’s health and safety. They will be alerted on their smartphone if their loved one contacts urgent response and can get updates on their location, device’s battery life and daily activity.

And coming soon, the live agent assist feature will have agents call users when Apple Watch detects a hard fall, to make sure they’re okay and contact family members if needed. Best Buy Health worked with Apple on this upcoming feature, which is one of the first to use Apple’s new fall detection API.

Best Buy has made digital-health technology and health-monitoring services a critical feature of its “Building the New Blue” strategy, which targets annual revenue of $50 billion by 2025.

Users who agree to a two-year Preferred Health & Safety contract can get up to $200 off the purchase of a new Apple Watch series 6, or up to $150 off the purchase of a new Apple Watch SE, only at Best Buy.

“By offering these powerful safety features on Apple Watch, we’re creating a new way to achieve a greater sense of connection and independence for older adults, and added peace of mind for both them and their families,” said David Inns, Best Buy Health president of active aging. “It’s the perfect next step in furthering Best Buy Health’s mission to enrich and save lives through technology and meaningful connections.”