Enhanced health management program from Nationwide Better Health

Jan 6 2010

Nationwide Better Health^SM, a leading provider of health and productivity management solutions, has made it easier for participants to enroll into the company’s lifestyle and disease management telephonic coaching programs and to schedule their first call with their dedicated health coach.

“Our goal is to make enrollment as simple as possible by providing our customers with access on their time. Nationwide Better Health’s decision to offer round-the-clock access demonstrates a true commitment to the needs of our valued customers.”

The enhanced on-line enrollment increases health management program participation by allowing participants to automatically schedule appointments at their convenience.

“During the last month, 54 percent of disease management participants and 36 percent of lifestyle management participants enrolled in these programs using the online scheduling tool," said Claire Rossé, chief health and productivity officer for Nationwide Better Health. “Participants can choose the language, time zone and time of day that works best for them, then select the telephone number they prefer their coach uses to contact them, which in the end is helping enrollment.”

Nationwide Better Health Check^SM

Starting with the identification process, employees take the Nationwide Better Health Check, an online, confidential and proprietary health risk assessment that uses a two-tier stratification process to place employees into the right programs based on their needs.

The Nationwide Better Health Check is available in multiple languages and allows employers to customize questions specific to their workplace population. Employers receive aggregate, real-time data to review patterns among their total population. Although the individual results of any health risk assessment remain confidential, employers can leverage aggregate data to initiate programs and services at critical points along the health continuum.

Dedicated health coaches for lifestyle and disease management programs

Once participants complete the Nationwide Better Health Check, they receive instant results, which include:

• A profile that calculates “heart age” and wellness score
• Immediate recommendations on which lifestyle health management options are best for them
• A personalized dashboard to access their information and on-line programs
• A year-by-year comparison to track progress and signal areas for improvement

Dedicated lifestyle health coaches create a customized clinically-driven action plan for every participant, using the Nationwide Better Health Check results as the foundation. Unlike most health promotion programs, Nationwide Better Health views each employee holistically, taking all of the participant’s risks, personal barriers and health goals into account.

Nationwide Better Health develops personalized action plans that help employees make better lifestyle choices and modify their at-risk behaviors. The plan identifies an appropriate set of tools selected from a library of lifestyle modules on topics such as nutrition, physical activity, weight management, stress management and tobacco cessation. Employers can choose to offer their employees the option of an easy-to-access, self-directed online program or one that provides additional support from a dedicated health coach.

In addition to its robust health promotion program, Nationwide Better Health offers disease management coaching for more than 20 different chronic conditions, such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer, along with maternity, medical, absence and disability management. These programs can easily be integrated with the company’s health promotion initiatives to deliver better results to improve the health of employees and the bottom line for employers.

“We designed our programs with the user in mind,” added Rossé. “Our goal is to make enrollment as simple as possible by providing our customers with access on their time. Nationwide Better Health’s decision to offer round-the-clock access demonstrates a true commitment to the needs of our valued customers.”