How Innovative Benefits Leaders Are Improving Employee Healthcare Costs, Quality, and Outcomes

Benefits leaders everywhere are using data to drive their strategy, but it’s often difficult to balance great care with efficient spending. You’re expected to offer stellar benefits that attract and retain talent. You’re also expected to control ever-rising costs, make sure members are engaging with their benefits, and track the effectiveness of care.

Dr. Donald Berwick of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement called this “The Triple Aim of Healthcare.” Better value, better quality, and better health are the foundations of what benefits leaders do.

But how do you make progress when it’s so hard to balance these three objectives?

At Artemis, we help our clients achieve the Triple Aim through data. We believe that keeping an eye on what’s working, what’s not, and what’s next is the key to helping members get the care they need at a price that’s reasonable.

Artemis Regional Director Emilie DeBaie recently led a webinar on this topic. She covered key metrics that employers and consultants should track, each of which corresponds to the triple aim. Here’s how an employer might measure these 3 components via a data analytics platform:

• Cost: employer paid amount; per member per month cost; identifying high cost claimants, evaluating cost by service (i.e. inpatient, outpatient); identifying top diagnoses by employer paid amount.
• Quality: measuring provider efficiency; quantifying network utilization (i.e. in-network variance, out-of-network spend); measuring readmission rates; identifying members with chronic conditions who are at risk and are facing gaps in care.
• Health: identifying potential risk of your population; identifying members who have not received age & gender appropriate screenings; measuring plan utilization; identifying chronic condition prevalence.

Each of these is just a start, and there are many avenues for continuing to measure the value, effectiveness, and health outcomes of your population.

For an in-depth look at this topic, check out the on-demand webinar.