COVID sparks employer focus on integrated care model

A proactive outreach plan helps employers control costs, improve care among patients with highest risk.

(Photo: Getty)

Health care provider Marathon Health says it has helped employers save more than $22.5 million in health care costs through a data-driven patient outreach program.

Between the start of the pandemic and August, Marathon contacted over 260,000 patients to address chronic conditions and physical and mental well-being. Using data to identify the most high-risk patients, the initiative helped those employees save an average $2,000 in health-care-related costs annually.

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“While managing patients with chronic health problems is more challenging than ever, it is also more critical than ever,” Dr. Bruce Hochstadt, executive vice president at Marathon Health, said in a statement. “Conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure and asthma do not enter remission during a pandemic, and ignoring them can prove disastrous.”

Marathon identified five elements of an integrated care plan that can help reduce health care costs to employers.

“The model used by Marathon Health to proactively support and personalize care for employee populations offers a different path from traditional healthcare that’s effective for both patient and employer,” Hochstadt said. Enhancing access to health care and reinforcing its importance, even during a pandemic, can reduce the impact and cost of urgent care, emergency room visits and inpatient hospitalizations in the near and long term.”

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