5 Care Management Vendors Helping Companies with Their Employee Health

Large employers seeking to maintain the health of their employees all share a common challenge: providing care for members with high-risk or chronic conditions. Care management vendors can assist these organizations. These vendors provide tools and approaches to help members manage conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, musculoskeletal conditions, and others. All these vendors help employers aim to provide better health outcomes for employees through focused programs, coaching, and assistance. Many also offering the alluring possibility of cost savings. 

We focus below on five care management vendors making an impact for self-insured employers and their member populations..

Livongo

Livongo partners with health plans and self-insured employers to provide personalized health management programs for employees. Their programs focus on the following areas:

• Diabetes Management: They equip diabetic members with a blood glucose meter that is cloud-connected. Known as a “connected” meter, this tool sends glucose readings to the Livongo cloud-based platform, then provides immediate feedback to the user. The company also provides unlimited glucose test strips and access to expert coaching.
• Diabetes Prevention: Along with expert coaching, Livongo provides members with a smart scale - an electronic device that measures biometric data such as weight and body fat percentage. Members also receive progress reports and personalized lessons on healthy habits.
• High Blood Pressure: Members receive a connected blood pressure monitor which sends readings to the Livongo platform, then sends the user real-time feedback in the form of personalized tips. Members can also share reports with their care team and receive expert coaching.
• Behavioral Health: This area focuses on building coping mechanisms for anxiety, stress, addiction, and other behavioral health issues. Along with the usual expert coaching, members receive access to interactive programs and customized tracking tools.
• Weight Management: Expert coaching, a smart scale, and progress reports to help members lose weight and learn healthier lifestyle habits.

Livongo’s solutions have yielded demonstrable results. In a 2017 study of its diabetes management program, Livongo found that, after one year, members experienced (1) an 18.4% decrease in the likelihood of a day with hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) and (2) a 16.4% decrease in hyperglycemia (high blood sugar).  

Virta Health

Virta Health provides solutions for reversal of Type II diabetes. Their approach aims to help people lose weight and lower their blood sugar through lifestyle changes. 

Virta calls its approach the Virta Treatment. Based on decades of research, the treatment is a protocol that is individualized to each member and can be delivered remotely, usually through a smartphone. The Virta Treatment consists of the following two main elements:

• Remote Medical Care: Members can receive expert care from physicians and nurses through Virta’s customizable app, which also acts as a medical records system.
• Nutrition Therapy: This therapy focuses on carbohydrate restriction and is endorsed by the American Diabetes Association. It is individually tailored to control blood sugar without medication.

Virta boasts impressive results on diabetes reversal:

• 63% reduction in diabetes-specific medications eliminated across the patient population after one year
• 1.3% reduction in HbA1c (a hemoglobin indicator showing average blood sugar level over past 2-3 months) at one year
• 12% average weight loss after one year

Just as impressive are Virta’s results for employers it partners with, as well as their employee populations:

• 71% reduction in prescription costs. 
• Average cost savings of $5,500 per member annually, for patients on branded mediations 
• 90% patient retention after one year
• Average of 2-4 daily patient interactions with a health coach

Notably, Virta’s approach does not include calorie counting or restrictions, and there is no exercise requirement. Although employers and health plans can offer Virta as a fully covered benefit, it is also available to individual patients for a monthly subscription fee

Vida Health

Focused on a wide array of chronic conditions, Vida Health is unique in combining mental and physical healthcare. Vida lists many conditions that it helps treat, including (1) diabetes prevention, (2) management of diabetes, blood pressure, and cholesterol, (3) weight loss, and (4) mental health treatment, such as stress management and therapy.

Their platform provides video sessions with expert coaches and licensed therapists, a mobile app that syncs with various health devices, and customized programs that include personalized tips and lessons. Vida advertises a few success metrics for participating members: 

• 7% average weight loss after one year
• 76% of members with stage 1 hypertension improved by one severity stage or more after 4 months
• 60% average decrease in depression after 6 months
• 33% average decrease in stress after 6 months
• 70-90% of onboarded members still using Vita after 6 months

 Vida’s client list includes a number of enterprise, self-insured employers, including eBay, Visa, and PayPal. 

Sword Health

Sword Health focuses its care management on musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions. When onboarding a new member, the company first matches that member with a licensed physical therapist, who will diagnose the member’s conditions and design a treatment plan. The member can then use the Digital Therapist, Sword’s FDA-listed digital device, to guide them through their exercise program, provide feedback, and even correct their form when needed. Members can use the Sword Health app to chat with their PT, ask questions, and check their progress. 

In its partnerships with employers, Sword will first create a launch plan by learning what makes the company’s member population unique and confirming goals. Their team of marketing experts will design and execute a communications plan to maximize member engagement and enrollment.

Sword advertises the following positive outcomes for both members and employers:

• An industry-leading member retention rate of 89%, compared to 73% for other MSK digital solutions
• 52% decrease in depression among members
• 32% increase in worker productivity
• 64% decrease in surgery intent among members
• 36% fewer members taking medications

The company bills itself as the only sensor-based digital solution that can treat all the major MSK conditions.

Hinge Health

Another digital MSK solution, Hinge Health offers its services to both employers and individuals. Hinge provides care at every stage of the MSK continuum: prevention, acute, chronic, and surgical rehab. Members have access to one-on-one visits with physical therapists and health coaches. And for exercises, members can use sensor technology that provides real-time tracking and feedback.

According to Hinge’s peer-reviewed research, participants experience an average pain reduction of 69% and an average 58% reduction in depression and anxiety. And their participant completion rate is 3 out of 4, which is the industry’s highest 12-week adherence rate.

Employers looking to provide care management solutions for their members are bombarded by hundreds of vendors each year. They meet vendor sales reps at conferences and get dozens of emails a week with information on potential health outcomes and ROI. It’s not easy to dig through these solicitations, find a vendor that matches your needs, and go through an implementation process. It’s even harder to set clear goals, align on success metrics, and track how a program is performing in the real world.

That’s where Artemis Health comes in. We have worked alongside self-insured employers to help them determine program ROI, track the right metrics, and find out which programs are actually delivering results.

Along with the right care management vendors, Artemis Health can help self-insured employers with insights into their member populations’ health and wellness. Watch our 2-minute demo video to learn more.