HbA1c levels decline 35 percent; on average, nearly 12 pounds of weight lost per participant.

Portland, Ore.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Medica—a leading regional health plan headquartered in Minneapolis with more than 1.6 million members in the Upper Midwest of the United States—recently released the results of a three-year study on the impact that their coaching program had on members’ health and wellness. Medica’s program includes two solutions from Insignia Health^®—the Patient Activation Measure^® (PAM^®) and Flourish™. The study, held by an independent third party, evaluated 1,051 participants over three and a half years, and found improvements in clinical outcomes, savings in costs, and an increase in member satisfaction. In addition, members’ patient activation levels increased.

Healthier Members

One of the most significant results of the study was a reduction of HbA1c levels in diabetes patients of 35 percent. In addition, participants experienced marked improvement in common clinical measures, including weight and blood pressure. On average, program participants showed a 6 percent reduction in weight (11.6 pounds per participant) and a 7 percent improvement in body mass index. Healthier lifestyles also were noted among program participants. Contributing factors include better nutrition, increased physical activity and a 14.6 percent increase in participants’ perception of their own physical health and an 18.7 percent improvement in their perception of their own emotional health.

“Medica believes that people have a tremendous ability to improve and maintain their health when supported through a coaching relationship to identify their own goals and take action to achieve them,” said Kevin Ronneberg, M.D., Medica medical director for health management. “Our health coaching program is an effective—and increasingly popular—tool for helping Medica members reach their goals and ultimately lead healthier lives.”

Medica’s health and wellness program offers a wide variety of personalized tools and resources to help participants make changes to improve their health with the support of health coaches. More than a year ago, Insignia worked with Medica to incorporate PAM into their existing health assessment, creating Medica’s Personalized Activation Measure^®, and into Medica’s value-based program, My Health Rewards by Medica^SM. At the same time, Insignia integrated Flourish into Medica’s member website.

Flourish includes more than 260 health topics, ranging from diabetes to heart disease, and asthma to diet and exercise, each tailored to engage the individual and encourage movement to higher levels of activation. PAM measures an individual’s knowledge, skills and confidence for managing their health and healthcare, assigning an activation level to each participant, which provides insight into their attitudes and behaviors around their health. Medica administers PAM upon program initiation, so Medica health and wellness coaches can personalize the program for each participant based on their activation level. PAM is administered again at program completion to measure program effectiveness. The results showed a 30 percent improvement in PAM scores for those who go through the program. “PAM is a valuable tool in determining where our patients are, so we can tailor our coaching to their needs, as well as determining how far they’ve come once they’ve completed the program,” said Ronneberg. “We know from the extensive research of PAM that higher activation scores drive improved self-management, better health and reduced healthcare utilization.”

Lower Costs

Reductions in costs were observed in inpatient, outpatient and total costs for program participants. Inpatient costs showed the most marked change, followed by outpatient costs and emergency room use. Reductions across these services were partially offset by increases in primary physician visits and medication use, as expected with increasing activation. Overall, program participants showed a cost savings of $19 to $22 per member per month, compared with the study control group.

Satisfied Members

Participating members are enthusiastic about their experience with the program. Ninety-six percent reported overall satisfaction with the program and 93 percent would recommend it to someone else. Importantly, 91 percent of participants reported that the program helped them change behaviors and meet individual health goals. Nearly an equal number—90 percent—said as a result of the program they are more confident in managing their own health, while 95 percent said they are thinking differently about how they manage their health and lifestyle behaviors.

About Insignia Health

Insignia Health, founded through health innovations developed at the University of Oregon, helps individuals become more active and successful self-managers of their health. This journey is anchored by the Patient Activation Measure^® assessment and a wealth of insight gained through nearly a decade of worldwide consumer health activation research. This empirical insight backs Insignia’s proven activation model, coaching resources and consumer health programs that are being using today by more than 70 leading organizations in their programs for disease and case management, wellness, medication adherence, the patient centered medical home and care transitions. More information can be found at www.insigniahealth.com or by writing to info@insigniahealth.com.

About Medica

Medica is a health insurance company headquartered in Minneapolis and active in the Upper Midwest. With nearly 1.67 million members, the non-profit company provides health care coverage in the employer, individual, Medicaid, Medicare and Medicare Part D markets in Minnesota and a growing number of counties in North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin. Medica also offers national network coverage to employers who also have employees outside the Medica regional network.

Medica has the highest accreditation status, Excellent, from the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA^®) for its Minnesota Medicaid HMO plans and commercial health plans in Minnesota and North Dakota. Medica’s vision is to become the community’s health plan of choice, trusted for its integrity, respected for its service, and admired for its commitment to innovation and efficiency.

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Medica Online Health Program Engages Members at High Rates to Improve Their Health, Activating them with the Patient Activation Measure^® and Insignia’s eHealth Solution, Flourish™

Flourish helps Medica’s Members Reach Their Health Goals.

Portland, Ore.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Medica—a leading regional health plan headquartered in Minneapolis with more than 1.6 million members in the Upper Midwest of the United States—recently released the results of a member survey on their wellness program. The results demonstrated the positive impact of using the Patient Activation Measure (PAM^®) and Insignia’s PAM-based eHealth solution, Flourish, to engage and support members in their health and wellness. Insignia Health^® worked with Medica to incorporate PAM into their existing health assessment, creating Medica’s Personalized Activation Measure^®, and into Medica’s value-based program, My Health^SM Rewards by Medica. At the same time, Insignia integrated Flourish into Medica’s member website for January 2011. One year later, Medica and its members have seen significant gains in health status and self-management.

During the first nine months of My Health Rewards by Medica program, 60 percent of members completed the health assessment while 40 percent completed health topics and set health goals. More than a third of eligible members also completed a biometric screening and 14 percent participated in health coaching. Nearly half of participants used Flourish to manage their diet, weight loss, and exercise plans, while other members used the plan to quit tobacco, manage a chronic disease, or improve their health overall.

“These results are fantastic. Not only are we seeing high levels of engagement in the program, but through the personalization the program provides, our members are seeing real benefits to their health,” says John Naylor, Medica vice president and general manager of commercial sales, renewals and account services.

PAM measures an individual’s knowledge, skills and confidence for managing their health and healthcare, assigning an activation level to each participant that provides insight into their attitudes and behaviors around their health. Flourish, an integral part of Medica’s online member experience, includes more than 260 health topics, ranging from diabetes to heart disease, and asthma to diet and exercise, each tailored to engage the individual and encourage movement to higher levels of activation.

“Flourish combines the benefits of dynamic online education with the more personalized experience of one-on-one coaching,” says Craig Swanson, president and co-founder of Insignia Health. “Every facet of a user’s Flourish experience is supported by extensive research that is marshaled to help individuals build upon their current self-management ability.” Through Flourish, Medica members can complete a health assessment and biometric screening, access personalized health topics and set health goals.

Flourish addresses the knowledge, skills, and confidence that drive health behavior with an emphasis on condition knowledge and self-awareness, medication, nutrition, physical activity, coping with stress, and provider communication skills. At the lower levels of activation, the program focuses on building a base of knowledge, basic skills and confidence. At higher activation levels, topics close knowledge gaps and support the development of more complex skills and new behaviors in pursuit of self-care best practices. A recent Medica participant survey found that more than 86 percent were satisfied with their experience in the program.

“These high levels of member satisfaction blew us away,” said Naylor. “It really speaks to the effectiveness of the PAM and Flourish. It’s not just about making health information and support available to your members—it’s about meeting people where they currently are in their ability to manage their health, and tailoring the information and support to increase the likelihood that they are successful.”

Medica Member Survey Feedback
(NOTE:Names have been omitted in order to protect individuals’ personal health information.)

“I started using [Flourish] in January 2011 to take the health assessment and to set personal goals for myself along with journaling my progress. To date I have lost around 70 pounds through eating right and exercise. This website has been a very helpful tool in my journey to a healthier lifestyle.”

“When beginning the Health and Wellness program, I was full of questions about how to get past the symptoms of Asthma and COPD and auto-immune problems I was having. I was discouraged and very tired. Going through the questions and tips for better health helped me set goals that have improved my stamina and choices for daily living and I am now feeling much better. The health wellness coach did a wonderful job of helping get a balanced perspective on my goals for daily living. The health wellness nurse has done a great job in informing me about the medications prescribed by my doctors and advising on my condition and what type of doctors would be best suited for me. I am much more confident about my condition and how to be assertive with my care. Thank you, this is a wonderful program.”

“I went in to complete my health assessment and started reading the health topics. I started journaling and setting goals. Since then, I have met most of those goals, which includes joining Weight Watchers and a gym and working with a personal trainer. I’ve lost 18 pounds since then and it all started because I downloaded some info from the health topics area and stuck them to my fridge. I have a lot more weight to lose, but I would truly say it started with your site. I started tracking what I ate (ideas from your site) and found out just how much salt, fat, etc., I was ingesting on a daily basis. Yikes—it scared me. I also discovered how sedentary I really was—bigger yikes! Setting goals and journaling was a great help. I felt like I was just writing a friend and the whole ugly truth came out in written form that I couldn’t ignore.”

About Insignia Health

Insignia Health, founded through health innovations developed at the University of Oregon, helps individuals become more active and successful self-managers of their health. This journey is anchored by the Patient Activation Measure^® assessment and a wealth of insight gained through nearly a decade of worldwide consumer health activation research. This empirical insight backs Insignia’s proven activation model, coaching resources and consumer health programs that are being using today by more than 70 leading organizations in disease and case management, wellness programs, medication adherence, the patient centered medical home and care transitions. More information can be found at www.insigniahealth.com or by writing to info@insigniahealth.com.

About Medica

Medica is a health insurance company headquartered in Minneapolis and active in the Upper Midwest. With nearly 1.67 million members, the non-profit company provides health care coverage in the employer, individual, Medicaid, Medicare and Medicare Part D markets in Minnesota and a growing number of counties in North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin. Medica also offers national network coverage to employers who also have employees outside the Medica regional network.

Medica has the highest accreditation status, Excellent, from the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA^®) for its Minnesota Medicaid HMO plans and commercial health plans in Minnesota and North Dakota. Medica’s vision is to become the community’s health plan of choice, trusted for its integrity, respected for its service, and admired for its commitment to innovation and efficiency.

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