Anyone who’s shuttled between doctor’s offices, struggled to relay information, or searched for specific health records knows the frustration.
Fragmented care comes in pieces. One doctor provides one service. Another doctor provides another service. Doctors may not communicate. Health data may get lost. The patient may be left trying to put the puzzle together.
What is integrated health care?
With integrated health benefits, patients get more coordinated and personalized care. Solutions draw on health data to engage them. Providers know more about their needs. And care is holistic – focused on both body and mind. That means better experiences and outcomes.
By drawing insights from data, engaging patients, and encouraging provider collaboration, integrated care can help improve outcomes and lower costs.
Helping lower overall health care costs
Benefits that work together save costs on multiple fronts. Here’s what a Cigna Healthcare study1 found:
- Employers saved $148 per member per year when integrating total behavioral health and pharmacy with a Cigna Healthcare medical benefits plan.
- When employees taking specialty medications and were diagnosed with depression, savings for employers were even greater – nearly $17,500 per member per year.
- For costly, chronic conditions, employers saved roughly $2,500 per member with diabetes and $400 for those with musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions.
When care is fragmented, both employees and employers lose money. Worse, patients’ heath can suffer. Connected care saves costs and improves lives.
What to know about integrated health care
Cigna Healthcare integrates health benefits through connected clinical platforms. These platforms draw on troves of data to identify trends. Data insights influence how, when, and where Cigna Healthcare communicates with members and providers.
When providers share information, they work together more closely. The result is better care coordination.
Let’s take a closer look at key features of integrated care:
1. Data insights for more personalized care
Analyzing patient health data can show who’s at risk for high-cost conditions such as musculoskeletal (MSK) pain and diabetes. The Cigna Health Matters® health assessment score and other data can reveal the need for action, whether it be preventive care or participation in targeted health coaching.
Here are other ways Cigna Healthcare plans draw on data:
- Gathers employee health information, such as health assessment results, benefits utilization, engagement in wellness programs, and provider quality.
- Integrates data insights from different sources, such as primary care, mental health, pharmacy, and employee assistance programs, to better understand employee health and well-being.
- Uses advanced predictive modeling tools to identify top health risks and improve engagement.
2. Proactive engagement to reduce costs
When people understand how early intervention and preventive health care can help, they’re more likely to have regular check-ups and screenings. Getting preventive health care can lead to significant savings for patients and their employers. Here’s what the 2022 Cigna Healthcare Value of Integration study found2:
- When employees engaged in health improvement programs, such as wellness coaching, employers saved more than $1,400 per person per year.
- The Cigna Healthcare care management program reduced avoidable inpatient hospital admissions by 31%.
Here are a few examples of how personalized programs can help employees:
- Offer in-person onsite clinics, plus virtual care
- Incentives for health screenings, preventive care, and healthy challenges
- Personalized communications based on data insights, including targeted messages about relevant resources and services.
3. Provider collaboration for quality care
The Cigna Healthcare integrated data platform makes it easier for doctors to share information with care team members – nurses, pharmacists, therapists, social workers, and others. When doctors, care team members, and patients get on the same page, duplicate testing or unnecessary treatment becomes less likely. Costs go down and better outcomes follow.
A complete picture of health
It’s time to move beyond fragmented benefits and toward an integrated health care plan. Through holistic, collaborative models of care, employees and employers share the benefits of reduced costs, improved outcomes, and a better quality of life.
To learn how you can improve employee health and lower costs through health coverage backed by the Cigna Healthcare suite of preventive, holistic solutions, visit cigna.com/better or contact your broker or representative today.
1. Cigna Healthcare Value of Integration Study, 2019.
2. Cigna Healthcare Value of Integration Study 2022.