Creating Health Care Consumers

MyChart offers access to past appointment records, medication lists and allergies, preventive care reminders, and, of course, appointment follow-up instructions. Results of tests such as blood pressure and cholesterol can be graphed over time. “Patients can see the effects of their lifestyle choices through this data,” Palattao says.

Patients can also schedule what’s called an e-visit. For example, a physician could instruct a person with high blood pressure to take 10 readings at home for 10 days and e-mail the results to his or her office. The doctor would in turn review the results and make recommendations for medication changes and send those in to the pharmacy—all done electronically. “It saves the patient anxiety and time off of work,” Palattao says.

Like HealthPartners, Medica is also emphasizing information that’s tailored to consumers on an individual level. Medica, an insurance provider headquartered in Minnetonka, is continuously developing its portfolio of health promotion plans and resources to employers. One example is its health education toolkit, which provides companies with turnkey messaging and programs that relate specifically to their population. “Depending on what’s important to them, we can promote programs that are most critical to that employer in their own workplace,” says Christine Finn, Medica’s vice president of strategic accounts. “The resources could range from a newsletter on a specific topic to workplace promotions and programs, where we send experienced professionals to address topics such as stress management and healthy eating.”

Medica also customizes plans for employers on line through the My Health Manager tool on www.medica.com. Companies work with Medica to promote issues that are important to them, so when employees log on to My Health Manager, they are greeted with employer health initiatives. “If it’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month and we have an employer who wants to promote mammograms, we can put something on the Web site,” Finn says.

In addition, My Health Manager allows Medica members to participate in six-week personalized programs on topics such as stress management and weight loss, and to access claims information. Finn expects this information to become even more customized than it is now. “As we move into 2007 with a clear focus on consumer-driven health plans, we will be moving more into providing members with more personalized messaging around health promotion and their individual situations,” she says.