Whitecoat proving popular with consumers

Almost 40,000 Australians have used www.whitecoat.com.au to find a healthcare provider service since launch

nib health funds (nib) today said Australian consumers have embraced the Whitecoat online search and comparison service since its launch in early November.

Whitecoat’s unique ability to connect consumers and healthcare providers will be highlighted during the upcoming holiday season, said Rhod McKensey, nib’s Group Manager – Australian Residents Health Insurance.

“Families who are travelling away from home and need to find a healthcare provider can do so quickly and without fuss by accessing Whitecoat through their smart phone, tablet, or laptop,” Mr McKensey said.

Whitecoat provides contact details and ratings information for more than 1,300 providers such as dentists, optometrists, and physiotherapists in major tourist destinations such as Tropical North Queensland, the Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast, NSW coastal districts and throughout Victoria. GPs and medical specialists are not included in Whitecoat.

“With Whitecoat now carrying details for more than 30,000 providers, the service is growing larger every day and during this Christmas break there will be an essential resource available to provide some peace of mind for families,” Mr McKensey said.

“Almost 40,000 Australians have used www.whitecoat.com.au and they are each spending about four minutes clicking through the service to discover its extensive contact details, rankings, and recommendations from nib customers.

“By far the most popular provider search is for dentists, with close to 50 percent of all visitors using Whitecoat to search for a dentist, followed by physiotherapists and chiropractors.”

“The fact that Whitecoat is showing 90 percent positive feedback from consumers confirms our belief that this service is a significant and welcome addition to the healthcare sector,” Mr McKensey said.

Apart from providing publicly-available contact details, the free Whitecoat website carries ratings information via a “Comparative Cost Score” and a “Likelihood to Recommend Score” as well as comments from nib customers about their customer service experience. While the comments can only be made by nib customers, the service is available to all Australians.