Why Your Benefits Strategy Needs Healthcare Personalization

The healthcare system currently operates on a one-size-fits-all model that typically treats symptoms, not the person as a whole. This narrow focus neglects the integrated nature of the body, leaving countless individuals with inadequate and unnecessary care. Employers who rely on these care models not only feel the downstream impact of rising healthcare costs, but also growing benefit dissatisfaction among team members. As benefits teams tackle this problem in a tight labor market, it's clear that some solutions make this task easier than others. Personalized healthcare solutions not only help teams support the unique needs of their diverse employee populations while maintaining uniformity in benefits—they also boost outcomes and lower costs.

Is your benefits package driving employees away?

As employees continue leaving their jobs at record speed, employers must evaluate how the quality of their benefits (or lack thereof) may be influencing this trend. A recent Workhuman survey found that 66 percent of employees were waiting to examine their new benefits package before deciding to leave their jobs (Bloznalis, 2021). The cost and quality of employer-sponsored health plans may hold the most weight in this decision. The Association of International Certified Professional Accountants ranked health insurance at the top of the list of desired benefits among American workers–higher than pay raises (AICPA, 2018).  

What does personalized care really mean?

As no two individuals are the same, no two treatments should be the same, either. When clinicians take the time to personalize care around the whole person and evaluate an individual’s concerns, medical history, lifestyle, and social determinants of health, they gain unrivaled access to the information needed to create the most effective treatment plan. The importance of recognizing an individual’s values and preferences is critical to driving engagement and outcomes. The key is to focus on what matters, not just what is the matter with an individual.

With a 360º view of each person–including underlying risk factors, quality of life goals and appropriate treatment options–clinicians unlock a new approach to healthcare, one that puts patient preferences and patient outcomes at the center of care. Key benefits of this model include:

• A shift to preventive (not reactive) care
• Earlier diagnosis
• Treatment and support to improve root causes
• Faster, longer-lasting recoveries
• Increased patient engagement and compliance

As individuals are encouraged to take their health into their own hands, they are far more likely to get better, faster. In fact, patients actively engaged in their healthcare decisions are twice as likely to seek out medical care and three times more likely to have better health outcomes (Hibbard, 2013).

Personalization drives high-value, low-cost care

Despite spending more on healthcare than several economically-comparable nations, the United States has the highest chronic disease burden and lowest life expectancy (Tikkanen, 2020). Personalized healthcare, on the other hand, has the unique capability to lower costs while also improving outcomes. An employer’s first step to unlocking this capability is choosing a plan that incentivizes high-value care with reduced prices. In addition to providing a greater level of care to enrollees, employers who select these plans also benefit from greater flexibility in their coverage decisions and cost-sharing structures. Rather than contributing the same amount to each enrollee plan, employers can now adjust their subsidies to mitigate uneven financial burdens resulting from diverse health needs.

Personalization: A key to employee retention

By opening doors to the most relevant and customized care available, employers can better attract and retain top talent in their organizations. In fact, the shift to personalized healthcare is an emerging trend across the country. The 2021 Benefits Trends Survey from Willis Towers Watson reported that 69 percent of employers intend to personalize their benefits package over the next two years (WTW, 2021). This number is a sharp increase from the 23 percent of employers currently offering this level of care in their health plans. With this new approach to patient well-being, employers nationwide are taking necessary action to prioritize enrollee health, and, in turn, retain their valued employees.

Bringing personalization into MSK care

Musculoskeletal (MSK) diseases affect more than 50 percent of adults in the United States and continue to rank among the top conditions burdening the healthcare system—making MSK care the ideal sector for personalization (USBJI, 2023). Patients who seek help for these conditions are all too often met with clinicians who operate under the standard model of care: costly diagnostic scans, inappropriate and highly-addictive opioid prescriptions, unnecessary surgeries, repeat. At the end of this cycle, patients are left with long, painful recoveries and steep medical bills—but little to no overall improvement.  

MSK conditions are multifaceted in nature, and each treatment plan should match in individualized complexity—with an effort to address root causes like obesity, physical inactivity, and poor nutrition. Patients see the best results when their pain is addressed from all angles, rather than just from the standard care protocol. Choosing to partner with a benefits solution that focuses on personalization can give your employees what they need and want while offering a consistent offering for all

At Vori Health, patients receive support from a specialized, multidisciplinary care team that includes a dedicated non-operative MSK physician, physical therapist, registered dietitian nutritionist, and certified health coach who work collaboratively to identify underlying causes of MSK pain. Care teams work with each patient to build targeted care plans centered around holistic, non-invasive therapies. This whole-person approach strengthens every aspect of an individual’s health as they work toward the ultimate goal: a life free from MSK pain

With an 80 percent patient satisfaction rate and 85 percent plan adherence, Vori Health continues to forge new paths in personalized MSK care with a singular focus on patient outcomes. This groundbreaking success also cuts back on healthcare spending, meaning a better bottom line and increased plan satisfaction. Considering MSK spending grew 38 percent in just two years, employers should take advantage of this strategic opportunity to lower health plan costs with personalized care.  

Talk to us to learn how Vori Health can enhance the value of your employee benefits and position your organization for lasting success (Goodpath, 2021).

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REFERENCES  

1. Bloznalis, 2021: Bloznalis S. (2021, November 4). Human Workplace Index – The Future of Employee Benefits. Workhuman, https://www.workhuman.com/blog/human-workplace-index-the-future-of-employee-benefits/  

2. AICPA, 2018: AICPA. (2018, November 28). Americans Favor Workplace Benefits 4 to 1 over Extra Salary: AICPA Survey, https://www.aicpa.org/news/article/americans-favor-workplace-benefits-4-to-1-over-extra-salary-aicpa-survey  

3. Hibbard, 2013: Hibbard JH and Greene J. What The Evidence Shows About Patient Activation: Better Health Outcomes And Care Experiences; Fewer Data On Costs. Health Affairs 2013;32(2):201-213.

4. WTW, 2021: Willis Towers Watson. (2021, September 8). U.S. employers to rethink employee benefit strategy, Willis Towers Watson survey finds, https://www.wtwco.com/en-US/News/2021/09/us-employers-to-rethink-employee-benefit-strategy-willis-towers-watson-survey-finds  

5. USBJI, 2023: United States Bone and Joint Initiative. Musculoskeletal Diseases And the Burden They Cause in the United States, https://www.boneandjointburden.org/, accessed January 16, 2023.

6. Tikkanen, 2020: Tikkanen R and Abrams MK. (2020, January 30). U.S. Health Care from a Global Perspective, 2019: Higher Spending, Worse Outcomes? The Commonwealth Fund, https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/issue-briefs/2020/jan/us-health-care-global-perspective-2019  

7. Goodpath, 2021: Goodpath. MSK Forecast Shows Cost Increases in 2021: Goodpath Employer Health Results, https://www.goodpath.com/learn/msk-cost-projections#:~:text=This%20analysis%20concludes%20that%20employer,cost%20increases%20have%20historically%20been, accessed January 16, 2023.

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