For too long, the U.S. health care system has defaulted to an old-school, reactive approach to health, largely due to the lack of access to the data. (Image: Shutterstock)
Among the many needs brought to light through this pandemic, access to accurate, updated data has never been more important. In addition to problems with gathering data through testing and contact tracing, there's another, equally important challenge: processing and acting on this data. As The New York Times reports, COVID-19 data is getting trapped in a bottleneck caused by inefficient reporting, non-standardized processes, and archaic technologies still in use, like the fax machine. As the executive director of the Harris County Public Health department said, "The data is moving slower than the disease."
Of course, these challenges are not unique to the COVID-19 pandemic, or even public health data. For too long, the U.S. health care system has defaulted to an old-school, reactive approach to medicine and wellness, largely due to the lack of access to the data and technology needed to generate predictive insights. Risk factors, population health trends, potential comorbidities, and even cost mitigation opportunities have gone largely unnoticed because the majority of our data is difficult to use and lagging by months. Until now, predictive insights have been rudimentary at best, due to challenges like poor interoperability, disparate data sources, and a lack of true analysis and intelligence.
But, we live in a different age. In 2020, we have the ability to release the floodgates and actually capitalize on health care and benefits data. We can now easily integrate data sources and generate predictive insights through AI and machine learning. We can see underlying risk factors, comorbidities, make predictive forecasts — and actually get ahead of disease with proactive intervention, rather than waiting to treat it once it manifests.
Using data to get ahead — and actually prevent disease
But whose responsibility is this? For a few reasons, I submit that employers have the biggest opportunity to make a difference, and perhaps the most to gain from doing so. As an employer myself, we have access to virtually all the data we'd need to solve this problem proactively.
Even more important, we also have the most direct access to the employees. We have the relationships, communication channels, and, in many cases, the community needed to inspire and support better health decisions and behaviors. We also have a vested interest in caring for employees — to have happy, healthy, and productive people. And why wouldn't we? As employers, we're rewarded or penalized for the health of our employees more than anyone else in the health care ecosystem. We need to think bigger, beyond mere cost management and minor adjustments. It's time we remember our mission as employers and the value the employee brings on that journey.
For example, let's look at some of the insights employers could generate with a proactive, intelligent approach to health care data:
- COVID-19 complication risk: Identify populations who would be at risk for more severe complications if they were to contract COVID-19
- Opioid addiction: Identify populations with gastrointestinal or back issues that are at high-risk for opioid addiction
- Emergency costs: Monitor avoidable ER visits and what conditions are most likely to cause those visits
- Preventative visits: Identify populations who forego standard preventive measures like yearly physicals, and analyze the associated costs and conditions that result
With these insights, HR and benefits leaders can then apply targeted interventions and risk mitigation strategies to prevent these health complications, conditions, and costs — improving overall employee health and financial wellbeing and reducing company absenteeism and costs.
For example, Springbuk has identified that men on our platform without a preventive visit over the past two years have spent an average of $997 more on medical and prescription expenses in the last year than those with at least one visit. In fact, men are 24% less likely to have visited a doctor in the past year. With an intelligent resource that highlights low-engaged populations like this, employers can easily understand what's going on in their population and make simple changes like incentivizing preventive visits or providing male members targeted information on the benefits of proactive health care.
It's time to embrace the mission
As employers with the access, ability, and opportunity, we can and should take the lead. This mission is ours for the taking, and we must choose to accept it. Imagine using our access to benefits data to identify trends and patterns in chronic and mental health conditions across various segments. Imagine making targeted interventions, in conjunction with consultants and health experts, providing personalized guidance and coaching, and taking proactive measures to decrease costs for both the company and our employees. Imagine what we could achieve if we oriented our organizations, benefits practices, and employees about not just treating disease, but preventing it.
For better or worse, the future of our collective health is in our hands right now. Let's clear the bottleneck and actually put our data to work for us. Let's embrace a collective mission of doing good by using our data to fight disease, improve overall wellness, and keep the out-of-control costs of health care in check. We have the data and the technology to do better — so let's get started.
Rod Reasen is co-founder and CEO of Springbuk, a Health Intelligence platform determined to prevent disease with data. This industry-leading platform allows employers to maximize the investment they're making in their most valuable resource — people. This simplified lens places all of the vendor and program management activities and accountabilities in one place.
Read more
© Arc, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to TMSalesOperations@arc-network.com. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.