Innovations in Wellness and Population Health Management

Wellness has not always been at the forefront of the health care industry, but with an increased focus on population health, organizations are realizing the importance of wellness as an essential way to improve the health of consumers.

• Discover the role of personalization and multiple program choice in wellness and disease management
• Explore the additional data that can help guide program choice
• Uncover the tools needed to increase personalization of programs

To have a successful wellness program, organizations must understand the steps needed to implement such a program, and strategies for enrolling members and patients.

• Explore the implementation process for a new program
• Uncover strategies for enrolling consumers in pilot programs
• Examine ways to plan evaluation of wellness and disease management programs to determine effectiveness

This case study examines the overall development, strategic planning, trending, and evolution from a participation-based to outcomes-based wellness program. Hear a review of evaluation metrics for the organization’s wellness programs, discuss population health integration points, and review participant and leadership engagement strategies. The Geisinger Wellness programs started in 2006 with a strong focus on data-driven program design, value on investment, and creating a company and community wide culture of health and wellness.

• Examine the previous and current strategic plans for the overall approach of a culture of health and wellness including the population health strategy
• Hear lessons learned and programing development
• Identify current and future strategy with health care reform including the new economics of health care benefits design
• Explore unique internal system and department partnerships and integrations
• Discuss current programs with initial results including preliminary ROI, such as system collaborations, medical home, case management, lifestyle coaching, and telemedicine and telehealth programs
• Discover the unique Geisinger Health Plan Wellness Program model development and operations
• Assess the analytics dashboard including value on investment

For a wellness program to successfully influence behavior change, organizations need to understand the characteristics, current behaviors, and motivations of the target audience. Effective programs also segment populations in order to ensure tailored and targeted programs.

• Discover how data are collected and reported on audience behaviors
• Explore ways to monitor changes in behavior after wellness programs are put in place
• Discuss ways to encourage automated reporting to minimize resources needed to manage data

Bringing increasing levels of wellness and well-being to members requires a careful, measured, and tailored approach. An integrated wellness program with multi-faceted offerings – ranging from Health Coaching, EAP, Incentives and Rewards, and Heightened Engagement Strategies – can bring wellness solutions to members in a way that meets their specific needs.

• Define the necessary elements of a wellness program offering
• Understand the breadth and depth of wellness program offerings that are available to address not only physical wellness, but well-being that addresses the whole person, and determine which combination of interventions meet the specific needs of the intended audience
• Discover the benefits of tailoring messages and interventions to keep consumers engaged

Mobile programs are an effective way to overcome barriers to self-management and have brought about opportunities to deliver health education in an efficient and effective manner. However, with so many apps in the market, it can be difficult evaluating which mHealth solutions engage and motivate consumers while also meeting the needs of the organization.

• Explore ways to overcome barriers to mHealth adoption
• Discover critical requirements – from the user perspective – for sustained engagement and behavior change progress
• Consider how to evaluate mHealth innovations for best company and user satisfaction

Evidence shows that being in a state with a strong public health infrastructure significantly improves the success of wellness and disease management initiatives.

• Understand the impact community partnerships have on influencing behavior change
• Discuss the impact of social context on the outcomes of these programs
• Uncover opportunities for working in collaboration with state public health officials on wellness initiatives

Employers are increasingly utilizing wellness programs to improve the health and productivity of their employees and reduce their employee health care costs. Health plans benefit from collaborating with employers on these initiatives, as it allows plans to access their members in their work setting, where they spend a large portion of their time.

• Explore the role of a health plan in assisting employer groups in the development of a wellness program and culture
• Discuss strategies for performing corporate wellness assessments with employer groups
• Uncover best practices for planning and implementing employee interest surveys, health assessments, claims reviews, and wellness proposals

The introduction of wearable technologies has brought a lot of discussion about their potential in various industries. Understanding their place in the health care industry requires a focus on the real use of these technologies and their impact on patients and caregivers.

• Explore the benefits of wearable sensor technology deployed in clinical studies and discuss the future of this technology
• Uncover the role of wearable technology in improving outcomes for chronic and acute conditions for patients and care networks
• Examine the increasing value of a wearable technology platform approach

Wearable technologies received a lot of attention when they initially entered the market, but some health care organizations are questioning their true value.

• Review where and how these technologies are currently used by health plans and hospitals
• Discover what interventions see the most success after implementing these technologies and the impact on programs
• Discuss the ROI on incorporating this additional technology

The introduction of new consumer-centered health care technologies – such as wearables and remote monitoring devices – brings about additional data on consumers.

• Consider ways to incorporate additional data with minimal disruption in workflows and efficiency
• Discuss what to do with this additional information once it is collected and available
• Examine the impacts of HIPPA on utilization of consumer-generated data