OneHealth Solutions signs strategic alliance with New Directions Behavioral Health

Jul 16 2013

OneHealth® Solutions, Inc., the leading behavior change platform company improving health outcomes and the cost of care for patients, providers, payers and employers, has entered into a strategic alliance with New Directions Behavioral Health, one of the fastest growing behavioral health care companies in the nation, to expand services into eHealth, mHealth and social networking for its members.

“New Directions is committed to developing programs that enable our members to make informed and sustainable healthcare decisions. OneHealth offers a robust platform for encouraging positive behavior change.”

OneHealth's proprietary, technology-enabled service offers a broad and holistic platform to support behavioral health and substance abuse conditions. Under the terms of the agreement, New Directions will include OneHealth in its recommended services for its customers. The services agreement provides participating New Directions health plans 24/7 web and mobile access to OneHealth's behavioral health communities including depression, anxiety, parent support, family autism support and others.

The first health plan that will offer OneHealth Solutions' services through New Directions is a major health plan operating in Kansas and Missouri.

"We anticipate that OneHealth's combination of social networking technology, monitored peer networks and mobile applications will drive strong results," stated Dr. John Emerick, Chief Medical Officer for New Directions Behavioral Health. "New Directions is committed to developing programs that enable our members to make informed and sustainable healthcare decisions. OneHealth offers a robust platform for encouraging positive behavior change."

OneHealth has demonstrated significant improvement measures and cost savings by engaging members in peer support communities through a combination of social networking technology, game mechanics and clinical principles. OneHealth's unique approach helps health plans improve the reach of their clinical programs and providers.

Bruce Springer, CEO of OneHealth commented, "With the nation's increasing focus on improving modifiable health risks and costly chronic medical conditions, it is important for health plan members to have access to peer-based tools that positively influence health decisions. We look forward to working with New Directions and generating positive outcomes for its membership."

The alliance addresses a growing need among behavioral health providers to find new and innovative ways to engage members. According to a March 2013 article from Towers Watson and the National Business Group on Health, "Companies recognize they need to develop a supportive workplace culture to engage employees in their own well-being. They are designing creative approaches, leveraging new ideas from behavioral economics, using social media to personalize health messages, placing greater emphasis on the physical work environment and using senior leaders to champion workforce health goals." The same can be said for engaging individuals living with health challenges.

The OneHealth platform allows invited members to check in emotionally to see how members are feeling and express empathy to their online support network. Participants can also access a network of peer health coaches, community managers, expert discussions and live online meetings and group chats. OneHealth also has a mobile application, OneHealth Meeting Finder, for 12-step and other peer support meetings, giving members access to a network of over 200,000 community-based meetings.