Health care is changing quickly.
Read about the top 5 trends in health care and the analytics you can use to navigate plan design with confidence.
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Quantify them
Measure ROI
Understand connections
Connecting it all
Reverse delayed care habits
Read about key trends and what this means for employers.
Connecting trends to benefits strategies
as part of health and wellness benefits.
Point solutions have been a great way to enhance benefits and provide care for a targeted need.
But as point solution costs add up, the pressure increases to understand, and sometimes PROVE, the value.
Most firms offer programs to identify health issues and manage chronic conditions (health risk assessments, biometric screenings, and health promotion programs).
83% of large firms offer a program in at least one of these areas: smoking cessation, weight management, and behavioral or lifestyle coaching.
Source: Kaiser Family Foundation study
Cohort comparisons are the ultimate analytic strategy for proving value. Without a direct comparison within the same population, there are so many factors that introduce doubt on what the numbers truly capture. Alternatively, by looking at well defined and specifically differentiated groupings of people, we can directly compare performance take away concrete and specific learnings.
Here’s a good example from our client base: This national retailer wanted to measure the value of a Center of Excellence strategy for heart conditions. The metric strategy compared a well-defined pair of cohorts that looked beyond traditional utilization and cost metrics. We helped them also include mortality rates (COE – lower), returns to work (COE – faster), outcomes (COE – better), and company satisfaction (COE – higher). Yes, that’s right – employees actually reported a higher employee satisfaction rate on the survey following a major episode of care.
Often “What’s the value?” is the wrong question. The correct question is “Who is this valuable for?” or “What’s the incremental value?”
There will always be a portion of a population that is engaged in their health and wellness. Your data can tell you who this population is, and provide insights that help you identify more people “like them” that you can target and pull along, therefore increasing program value. Also consider if the engaged audience would have been healthy or well without the special program, in some other way. Is it the program – or the people – that are providing the results you see?
Choice might be the right choice. The optimal strategy may not be selecting the best performing program in some cases. Use data to confirm if similar point solution programs are engaging the same or different audiences.
One self-funded employer had two somewhat similar wellness point solutions – Solution A emphasized “exercise and feel better.” Solution B emphasized “Eat right and feel better.” They both showed value – which one should they keep?
A deeper investigation of the data revealed that the solutions were in fact engaging somewhat different audiences. The self-funded plan sponsor found they increased the value of BOTH point solutions by understanding the demographic nuances, and creating more targeted communications and incentives that used these insights.
Don’t wait for results (e.g., traditionally after year 3 of data is collected and analyzed). Design metrics that act as leading indicators. After year 1, plan to optimize and performance tune. Move the conversation. Avoid “Wow – it looks like our MSK program had trouble engaging our guys in the warehouses even after 3 years,… should we look into a different solution or approach?” Prepare for, “Wow – it looks like our MSK program is having trouble engaging guys in the warehouses – what’s our plan to tackle this as we plan for year 2?”
Understand how social determinants of health influence engagement and utilization. Then optimize the point solution to meet broader needs by removing barriers. The data can show you where actions will be impactful.
Data that provides insights into social determinants of health can be time consuming to assemble into an analytic environment and then align to member health data. And yet it’s so powerful for insights. Your analysts time is better spent using this data as opposed to prepping it manually.
We evaluated medical and dental claims for diabetics after the introduction of a new Virtual PCP program. The solution was selected after seeing a statistically significant difference in PCP utilization across various household income segments. We created a specific scope around diabetics to study impacts on utilization, medication adherence, medical costs, and co-morbidities in mental health. Not all investigation can rely solely on data. The task force team worked with “Voice of the Member” groups, formed based on specific demographics. They focused on understanding context and color behind the numbers. Transportation, time away from work, and caregiving themes arose in the care access category. Other reasons were also presented, but offered less immediately actionable solutions.
With less time prepping data, the team had more time to dig deep, address quantified specific barriers, and is now measuring impact.
Check out how easy it is to include Social Determinants of Health (SDoH) factors into an analysis.
HDMS Enlight makes it easy to put these best practices to work.
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With staggering resignation rates throughout the country, employers are naturally looking at benefits. What’s the right mix to both retain employees to prevent expensive losses, and attract replenishment talent?
Navigating the “Great Resignation” to an advantage means directly addressing these unknowns. It requires a holistic approach to health benefits. It’s no longer enough to have a handful of options that seem like they should fulfill employees’ specific needs.
Think about the relationship between a doctor and their patient. Providers consider the whole patient, including their demographics, medical history, and social determinants of health. Yes, they focus on health outcomes, but also fostering better patient experience and satisfaction levels to ensure their practice maintains a stellar reputation. If you too can take a holistic view of your workforce population, you’ll nail it. You’ll offer competitive and thoughtfully designed health benefits that really resonate with employees.
Derive insights from powerful data stories that exist about your workforce.
Your health benefits will not only address your employees’ needs but anticipate them. You won’t fear the sticker shock that comes with an expansive benefits package. Having analyzed health data you will have eliminated under-utilized and costly benefits that your employees don’t need or want. You’ll get better value for what you are spending.
A record 4 million people quit their jobs in April 2021 alone, for reasons largely stemming from dissatisfaction, whether in pay, flexibility, or work-life happiness.
Read the NPR Article
Use data to design the right health and wellness programs for YOUR population.
Happy, healthy employees – the building blocks for success and long term loyalty.
No guess work or finger crossing.
With so much data available from multiple sources, how can you interpret and utilize it properly?
Health data is key to successful transformation as a side effect of the “Great Resignation” trend. Use analytics to evaluate specific benefits and associated holisitic wellness. Do mental health apps reduce reliance on prescription pain medications or chiropractic visits? Get a better understanding of employees’ wants, needs, and what’s working. Unfortunately the individual reports you have today can’t always connect the dots for you.
Using data differently gives is broader understanding of people, wellness, and ultimately, productivity. It’s easy with connected health data and even fun (!) with a predictive analytics system. Equipped with data-driven insights, you’ll create a competitive advantage beyond just hiring, by offering benefits that really work for your employees. You’ll have happier, healthier employees bringing their best self to work everyday.
A connected view of your health data makes it possible to spot emerging trends more quickly and evaluate employee behaviors as they evolve. You can monitor in real-time how your population uses their healthcare services to identify opportunities for improvement and increase employee retention.
For example, you can use prescription data to view trends in new medication for anxiety and depression as an indicator of your workforce’s overall wellbeing. This canary in a coal mine can help you implement wellness perks for your employees more quickly, such as mental health days or increased behavioral health services. Connected health data creates a birds-eye view of your population’s greatest commonalities and shared wants and needs. If many of your employees have dependents, childcare coverage might resonate more than the social benefits that young professionals may seek.
By integrating all types of employee benefits data — from traditional sources (such as medical, eligibility, and pharmacy) and non-traditional sources (such as wellness programs, disease or care management programs, biometrics, wearables, provider and lab data) — you have the power to create a benefits program specifically targeted to your employees.
More than ever, employees need to feel valued and employers need to improve retention rates with competitive and custom health benefits. Understanding the “Great Resignation,” particularly how to address it, is critical for your company’s success in the immediate and long-term future.
It’s not just about retention or hiring.
Nurture happier, healthier employees who bring their best self to work everyday.
Arm yourself with data visualizations, cohort analysis, and other tools. Easily evaluate your workforce and adjust health programs to meet their evolving expectations. We’ll help you deliver measured results and continued success… long after the Great Resignation.
Your friends at HDMS
Companies are using predictive analytics to get the right people to the care they need. Think about it – predictions aren’t truely valueable unless we act upon them to either avoid a negative prediction, or accelerate a positive prediction.
Read these 3 use case examples to help inspire new ideas about how your organization can be using predictive analytics.
What are some use cases and ideas for intervention strategies?
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Do employees stay with you for years?
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How can you tell if a point solution is delivering on it’s value promise? Is it reaching and helping the parts of your population that need it most?
Read how HDMS helped a client determine whether they should renew their contract with their Diabetes Management point solution.
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