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Delivering Total Population Health through Well-Being Improvement
See results of a successful six-month pilot study of Healthways’ newly developed hospital readmission avoidance program.
The United States is facing an unprecedented health crisis. Rising costs, declining quality of life, lost productivity, stress, care provider shortages, and an aging population continue to place a heavy burden on the American economy, on the vitality of our communities, on the viability of our enterprises, and on individuals in need of both health improvement and services to optimize their care. What is the healthcare provider’s role in effectively, sustainably reversing these trends?
Healthcare providers are assuming increased levels of risk and responsibility for the health of populations so they can be rewarded for managing health rather than simply treating illness. Financial challenges, healthcare reform implementation and the intricacies of moving to value-based payment are the top three concerns for health systems executives.1 Although the path forward is not always clear, leaders know that expanding market share and cutting costs alone will not ensure success; health systems must find new ways to unlock values for the communities they serve.
Healthways can help. Our solutions enable health systems to capture, aggregate and be accountable for populations while they support the proper pacing and sequencing of change. We’ll help you deliver new value to the market while sustaining and even enhancing current finances.
A Unique Approach to Total Population Health
Health is more than physical — a concept that is hardly new, but what exactly does it comprise? How do you efficiently address all facets across a complex population, getting at the root causes of poor health rather than simply its outcomes or the bad behaviors that lead to it?
Healthways is the original total population health innovator. We have studied, defined, influenced and measured population health for more than three decades, starting with hospital and diabetes management in the ’80s, expanding into other chronic conditions in the ’90s, and then moving into wellness and traditional population health in the early 2000s.
Since 2008, Healthways has partnered with Gallup in our research, fielding millions of surveys around the world to more fully explore the multifaceted nature of health, including what causes our behaviors and habits to move in positive or negative directions. This research has helped us understand what constitutes “well-being,” a broader definition of health that includes what is fundamentally important to people, how we experience our day-to-day lives, how we make thousands of decisions every day, and what we think our lives will be like in the future.
Improving well-being is the best — indeed, the only — way to positively influence behavior across an entire population and to sustain that positive change over time. Research has shown that on average, an individual with a 10% higher well-being score2 will have:
- 5% fewer unscheduled work absences
- 24% lower presenteeism
- 5% higher reported job performance
- 5% more days of “best work in a 28-day period”
In one study, for every point increase in well-being3, individuals had a:
- 2.2% reduced likelihood of hospital admission
- 1.7% reduced likelihood of emergency room visit
- 1% reduced likelihood of incurring healthcare costs
In fact, a health management strategy that embraces the full scope of an employee’s well-being is on average more than twice as effective at curbing productivity losses as a wellness program centered solely on physical health.
Scientifically Proven, Guaranteed Results
Healthways has used the knowledge built over more than 30 years and 90 peer- reviewed studies to transform our solutions, and in turn to more effectively transform populations. By elevating the well-being of individuals, Healthways creates populations that are healthier, higher performing and less costly.
Our strategy is to help clients optimize success across each phase of their population health management journeys, meeting organizations where they are today and providing the expert resources and ongoing consultative support they need along the way to make the most of opportunities presented by a value-based environment.
Using advanced data analytics and the foundation of a robust, physician-centric technology platform, we support:
- The risk stratification of a population so you can organize and initiate effective intervention for patient cohorts
- The adoption and management of patient-specific care plans designed to reduce the potential for avoidable encounters
- The deployment of an array of properly dosed interventions that are focused on the care each patient needs
By optimizing physician-directed care across populations, we help organizations reduce clinical risks, reduce readmission rates, improve quality of care and reduce claims expense — all of which help to maximize performance under shared savings arrangements. In fact, because we know well-being improvement works — and works better than other population health management approaches largely based around improving physical health — we guarantee our results.
Key Solutions for Health Systems
Healthways Well-Being Improvement Solution
An ideal way for health systems to become fully immersed in our unique approach to population health in preparation for going to market, the Healthways Well-Being Improvement Solution helps you elevate the well-being of your entire employee population, creating employees that are healthier, higher performing and less costly.
Dr. Dean Ornish Program for Reversing Heart Disease
The Ornish Reversal Program complements a hospital’s existing cardiac service lines, increasing options for patients and physicians. In addition to treating and reversing heart disease, the program has proven to be effective in the management of type 2 diabetes, early-stage prostate cancer and other chronic diseases that drive disproportionate medical costs and lost productivity.
Navvis Healthways Consulting Services
The Navvis Healthways Consulting Services team work with health system leadership as an extension of the C suite to determine when to change, how fast to change, where to start and what the future roadmap should be. Our specific area of expertise is building population health collaborations between health plans, hospitals and physicians, generating both cost savings and new revenue opportunities.
Healthways Diabetes Support Solution
A proven, cost-effective and flexible solution for diabetes and glycemic care, the Healthways Diabetes Support Solution allows you to select the combination of services that will help you achieve your desired outcomes. We offer consulting on specific engagements, full diabetes service line management, and anything in between, helping you evolve to meet changing priorities and capabilities and to go farther, faster, with less expense than you could go on your own.
Healthways Care Transitions Solution
The only acute and post-acute care transitions management to earn the exclusive endorsement of the American Hospital Association, our coordinated, comprehensive and scalable solution combines people, processes and technology to carefully track and manage even the smallest aspects of a patient’s transition between care settings.
References:
1 American College of Health Care Executives, 2013 Member Survey
2 Healthways cross-sectional analysis
3 Harrison PL et al., “Evaluation of the Relationship Between Individual Well-Being and Future Health Care Utilization and Cost,” Population Health Management, 2012
