6. Total Improvement Health Strategy - Marilyn Guthrie (REI) at Models for Change '11

EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT, COUPLED WITH INCENTIVE PLANSAt the employer level, Recreational Equipment, Inc. (REI) has driven reductions in its high health risk employee pool and per employee healthcare spend, among other performance indicators, by creating an environment that emphasizes shared responsibility between employees and the company. "A couple of years ago we really started to drive home the notion that you, as the employee and with your family, have a stake in this," explained Marilyn Guthrie, Manager of Benefits, Wellness & Recognition, "and we [REI] have a responsibility from an employer perspective to make those programs and resources available to you, but you need to take ownership and have accountability for making informed choices and decisions." To date, the biggest lever in getting employees engaged has been an incentive-based program called HealthQuest, which operates similar to a frequent flyer program with key milestones and a points-based system. States Guthrie, "at the first milestone, called the Trailhead, employees are eligible to receive a [benefit] premium credit off of their annual contribution, and throughout the year there are challenges and activities to get additional rewards." Upon completing a well-being assessment, employees can get a personal health map developed with the help of a coach. As more educational materials have migrated online to a web portal, REI is starting to offer information that is tailored to an employee's personal health status and condition. The company also offers a health concierge function, available to all but especially beneficial to REI's younger workers who have limited experience dealing with the healthcare system. While HealthQuest has high participation rates, REI recently concluded that further steps were required to encourage accountability. "The consumer engagement piece is core for us," articulated Guthrie, "and because we knew that we didn't have plan designs that incented or even motivated employees to really understand the cost of care, we just this year introduced a consumer-directed health plan option (CDHP)." Weakland's talk was given at Consumer-Centric Health: MODELS FOR CHANGE '11, a conference that featured more than 20 presentations on all facets of health behavior change. The presenters represented diverse fields of medicine, employer health, mobile technology, health insurance, gaming, public health, research, and anthropology. The 1½ day conference, held at Seattle University in Seattle, Washington, began with an opening keynote on Oct 12, with the main sessions on Oct 13, divided into three sections (1) WHAT'S WORKING IN BEHAVIOR CHANGE; (2) HOW TO SCALE BEHAVIOR CHANGE; and (3) WHAT ELSE IS NEEDED TO MAKE BEHAVIOR CHANGE MORE EFFECTIVE AND SUSTAINABLE. Models for Change '11 was convened by Health Innoventions with support from Bastyr University's Center for Health Policy & Leadership and Seattle University's Organization Systems Renewal Program.Health Innoventions ( http://www.healthinnoventions.... is a non profit that serves the public good by promoting the translation and dissemination of actionable consumer-centric information to support health-enhancing programs, technology and policy.

Channel: Science & Technology
Uploaded: November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am
Author: HealthInnoventions

Length: 18:32
Rating: N/A
Views: 66

Tags: behavior change  health  mhealth  mobile health  ehealth  patient activation  mobile app  mobile device  behavioral economics  healthcare  cessation  health coaches  patient-centric  consumer health  BF Skinner  cognitive therapy  stress  health care  obesity  chronic disease  motivational interviewing  patient activation measure  medical home  TEAMcare  Medicine  Health Policy  employee engagement  incentives  

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