• by Erik Sass , Staff Writer @eriksass1, July 5, 2013

SoloHealth, which operates a network of interactive kiosks in retail locations, said it has been selected by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Georgia to help the insurer engage with current customers and acquire new ones.

The deal, which is rumored to be worth over $1 million, will give some 2.4 million BCBS members access to customized educational information and risk assessment surveys via SoloHealth Stations in 125 Walmart and Sam’s Club venues around Georgia. The content can be tailored to individuals using information about their health history as well as the kiosks’ own biometric evaluations, including screenings for vision, blood pressure, weight, and body mass index, as well as a symptom checker and overall health assessments. Data gathered by the kiosk can be merged with their BCBS health records; eventually, BCBS may offer customers financial incentives to use the stations.

BCBS also plans to use the kiosks to market its Medicare Advantage and health exchange plans, and may install kiosks at its own healthcare facilities in Georgia.

Earlier this year, SoloHealth unveiled a new pay-per-performance advertising model, called SoloTrigger, which delivers targeted healthcare content via its interactive kiosks and invites consumers to request additional information about products and services. Sponsors only pay when consumers actively engage with the ad content. SoloHealth Stations are currently located in over 3,000 retail locations around the U.S., including Walmart, Sam’s Club, Safeway, Schnuck’s Markets, Vons, Tom Thumb and Randalls stores, and the company plans to expand to 5,500 by 2014. So far advertising partners have included Johnson & Johnson, P&G, Pfizer, Bayer, Hallmark and The Coca-Cola Company.

In 2010 SoloHealth received a $1.2 million grant from the National Institute of Health (NIH), a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, to develop the kiosk format.  The bilingual kiosks are FDA-approved and HIPAA-compliant.