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Are You Keeping Up with the Changing Face of Population Health Management?
By CRAIG FROUDE, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT AND GENERAL MANAGER, WebMD HEALTH SERVICES
Until recently, population health management typically consisted of risk assessment and stand-alone wellness initiatives. Few organizations offered integrated programs that helped healthy individuals as well as those with modifiable risks and chronic health conditions manage their health over time. But rapid evolutions in technology and consumer expectations are changing the face of population health management. Organizations that don't keep up may find themselves paying the price in the form of continued, accelerating increases in healthcare costs.
Rapid evolutions in technology and consumer expectations are changing the face of population health management.
Expectations have changed
Consumer expectations for online services have changed. They expect relevant, personalized recommendations from online retail sites such as Amazon. They want to be remembered every time they return to a social networking or content site. And they rely on secure, up-to-date online banking to manage their financial portfolio anywhere and anytime. While these expectations have raised the stakes, many companies are also reaping the benefits through increased online business, greater customer satisfaction, and reduced costs.
To meet consumer needs, population health management is quickly following this model. Healthcare has become a financial decision for consumers, not simply a care decision to leave up to experts. Consumers are looking for tools to help them manage this increased financial responsibility and they are comfortable with online sources for health information. With continuing evidence of the benefits of wellness, prevention, and behavior modification, consumers are primed to use the health resources that sponsoring organizations provide.
Healthcare has become a financial decision for consumers, not simply a care decision to leave up to experts.
Technology powers new opportunities for consumers...
Fortunately, consumer expectations can be cost-effectively met with technology. Today's population health management takes a scientific approach to analyze the health risks within an organization, segment its population, and deliver a full range of relevant solutions.
Standards-based, networked systems integrate health data from across the spectrum — self-reported health information, claims data, provider information, and biometric data from health fairs or home medical devices — into a comprehensive personal health record. Then sophisticated algorithms deliver relevant, personalized information and programs to every individual within the population.
Today's population health management takes a scientific approach to analyze the health risks within an organization, segment its population, and deliver a full range of relevant solutions.
...And for sponsoring organizations
While technology powers consumer interaction, it also gives sponsoring organizations access to complete population health data that provides the basis for better analytics. With a better view of its population health risks, the organization is able to create and promote more appropriate programs to address them, can measure the results in real time, and can adapt programs as needed.
As employers and health plans push more responsibility for health management onto the individual, they are able to provide powerful online tools that can help individuals manage issues as complex as medication and treatment options. They can also motivate consumers' behavior changes with integrated online incentive programs that are convenient and financially rewarding.
Society and technology have evolved; it's time for health management to evolve as well. Healthcare continues to become more complex, with more treatment options, higher costs, and tougher decisions for consumers. In response, WebMD continues to develop new solutions to address the different ways people learn and adapt their behavior. And more and more clients are following our lead, offering our integrated mix of online tools and telephonic coaching with onsite resources such as clinics and fitness centers. Most importantly, they're seeing results.
WebMD continues to develop new solutions to address the different ways people learn and adapt their behavior.
Some tips on the changing face of population health management
- Population health management is an investment, not an expense. Not keeping up can substantially impact your bottom line.
- Use incentives to drive specific outcomes. Incentives make the connection for consumers between health status and healthcare costs. Ask us about cost-neutral incentive programs in which those who choose not to participate fund the entire program.
- Population health depends on participation. Individual behavior drives as much as 88%1 of all healthcare costs. Use a mix of integrated resources to motivate people to make effective changes, including online and offline resources along with telephonic health coaching.
- Pull healthcare providers into the mix. Involve providers by providing technology that helps them be more effective in managing patients' health. The personal health record is a critical step in that direction.
- Focus on programs that meet your outcome requirements. Simply getting your population to complete an HRA is not managing population health.
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