Quick Summary:

• What is PHM: A strategic approach to improve health outcomes for employee populations using data-driven care models.
• Benefits for Employers: Reduces healthcare costs, increases productivity, enhances employee retention.
• Benefits for Employees: Improves health outcomes, provides personalized care plans, and increases engagement in health.
• Tools and Technology: Involves data analytics, predictive modeling, patient engagement platforms, and wearable technologies.
• Integration Strategies: Includes health risk assessments, customized wellness programs, disease management, telehealth services, and fitness/lifestyle benefits.

Prioritizing a healthy workforce is a strategic business imperative across industries. Not only are healthy employees more productive, but enhancing their well-being can also help manage healthcare expenses more effectively.

Population health management (PHM) is one such strategic solution to help accomplish this. This comprehensive approach to improving health outcomes across your entire employee base can have long-lasting benefits.

Learn more about PHM and how you can begin to integrate these solutions into your employee benefits program to foster a healthier workplace and save on healthcare costs.

What is Population Health Management?

The American Health Association defines population health management as:

“The process of improving clinical health outcomes of a defined group of individuals through improved care coordination and patient engagement supported by appropriate financial and care models.”

In other words, PHM uses data from across the healthcare spectrum to assess and manage the health risks of populations. Meanwhile, traditional care management models have focused solely on individual patient care.

PHM is a proactive approach to health care. With healthcare costs continuing to rise, staying one step ahead to help prevent and mitigate costly health problems is essential.

Benefits of PHM

While much of the discussion around PHM revolves around healthcare, businesses can also benefit from this coordinated approach to care.

Population health management can help employers:

• Reduce Healthcare Costs: By preventing diseases and managing chronic conditions effectively, PHM can help lower healthcare costs .associated with employees across the health spectrum; keeping the healthy employees healthy, reducing the risk strata of moderate-risk employees and containing costs associated with high-risk employees.
• Increase Productivity: Healthier employees mean fewer sick days and hospital visits, which translates into higher productivity and efficiency at work.
• Enhance Employee Retention: Offering a robust health management program can enhance job satisfaction and employee retention.

Population health tools are also beneficial for employees. This approach to care can help your team members:

• Improve Health Outcomes: With a focus on preventive care, employees benefit from early identification of potential health issues and management of existing conditions. This can lead to better overall health.
• Personalize Care Plans: PHM provides tailored care plans based on individual health data. This offers more personalized and effective care.
• Engage in their Health: With more resources at their fingertips, employees can make more informed decisions about their health. This increases their engagement and encourages healthier lifestyle choices.

Population Health Tools and Technology

To reap these benefits, businesses need the right population health management technology. Population health tools typically include sophisticated software that integrates data from multiple health information sources. From there, it can aggregate, analyze, and act on findings to identify risks and track how effective health interventions are.

Here’s a closer look at some of the core components of population health technology:

1. Data Analytics: Involves the systematic use of data to drive decisions. The right tools can parse vast amounts of health data to derive actionable insights, which can be used to improve individual patient care and overall population health.
2. Predictive Modeling: This technology uses statistical techniques and models to predict future outcomes based on historical data. It can help forecast potential health events in populations, such as the likelihood of disease outbreaks or risks for chronic diseases like diabetes. It’s essential to help prevent and mitigate the impact of these illnesses.
3. Patient Engagement Platforms: These platforms are designed to involve patients more directly in their own health management. They provide tools for communication between patients and health providers, educational resources, and even self-monitoring capabilities. These all encourage employees to be more engaged with their health.

Self-monitoring is a particularly popular health management solution among organizations. Wearable technologies in the workplace like fitness trackers and smartwatches can provide real-time health data which empowers individuals to take control of their health. At the same time, it contributes to a data pool used for health monitoring and risk assessment.

Integrating Population Health Solutions in Employee Benefits Programs

Population health management and employee benefits go hand in hand. After all, healthcare is a major component of any benefits plan. By integrating the principles of PHM into your benefits program, you can begin to enhance employee health outcomes and manage healthcare costs.

Here are a handful of ways to begin incorporating population health management solutions into your employee benefits programs:

Health Risk Assessments (HRAs)

Start by offering Health Risk Assessments to collect data on the health status, lifestyle, and risk factors of your employees. This data provides a foundation for tailoring interventions and tracking health improvements over time.

Customized Wellness Programs

Based on this data, you can create personalized wellness programs. They should address the specific health needs of your workforce. These might include smoking cessation programs, weight management courses, stress reduction workshops, and more.

Disease Management Programs

Disease management programs can be integrated into the benefits package. These programs provide support for chronic disease management to help mitigate its impact.

Telehealth Services

Telehealth options empower employees to access healthcare services remotely. Making healthcare more convenient and immediate helps employees regardless of if they have a chronic condition or are seeking preventative care.

Fitness and Lifestyle Benefits

Encourage a healthy lifestyle by offering benefits such as gym memberships or fitness challenges. As mentioned before, wearables like fitness trackers can help motivate employees to stay active and monitor their health metrics.

You can even implement incentive programs that reward employees for using these benefits.

Behavioral Health Support

More and more employees are finding the value of using mental health benefits. Providing access to mental health services, stress management programs, and counseling can help employees improve their overall well-being.

At World Insurance, we understand that crafting an effective employee benefits program can be daunting. Our team of industry-leading experts is here to help you take a holistic approach to modernizing your program.

Contact us today to learn more about how World Insurance can help your organization build a culture of health and mitigate medical trends.