Improving Employee Benefits with mHealth

Improving health plan utilization while cutting costs is a top priority for modern-day employers. The task of fulfilling new obligations and expectations requires new strategies and advanced tools, including mHealth. Less than five years ago, nearly 17 million consumers were accessing healthcare information on a mobile device, with that number steadily increasing each year. By implementing such technology, employers can simultaneously better their workforce as well as their bottom line.

Health apps work by engaging members with tools that enhance wellness, diet and exercise by providing actionable alerts to help prevent chronic diseases that lead to costly emergency room visits. For companies that have mobile tools for work, mHealth applications can be easily adapted into the workflow. Below are some top ways mHealth can improve your employee benefits:

• Better access: By utilizing mHealth for your company benefits, workers gain better access to their benefits management. They can have in their pocket instant information about in-network provider directories, pharmacy- and medical-benefits summaries and claims histories, drug prior authorization status, and many more. Having access to such information can get your employees back to health faster than ever.
• Better organization: Whether your company deals with benefits in-house or uses a third-party administrator, the use of mHealth technologies can keep things organized. Apps and web-based platforms can provide information regarding drug-claim histories and formulary data in a user-friendly interface that is imperative to cost savings.
• Better adherence: Research has shown that 25 percent of patients prescribed medications for new illness fail to fill their initial prescription and half of individuals taking maintenance medication for chronic diseases stop the process within a year of starting. This lack of prescription adherence can cost you millions in unnecessary medical coverage, but by implementing a mHealth strategy, the likelihood of your workers following instructions for medication can increase drastically. Apps that indicate prescription pricing are appealing to workers on a budget and if an employee can save money while being healthy, your business will benefit.

Keeping employee healthcare costs low while providing a robust benefits plan is key to workforce retention and by implementing mHealth strategies, your business can see great benefits. To find out more about mHealth for your employees, contact RxEOB today.