The more employers embrace a holistic perspective for the health of their workers, the clearer it becomes that the old point solutions no longer fit. The Massachusetts Bankers Association, in which 80 percent of the 100 or so member banks participate in a healthcare benefits program, found its compartmentalized system lacking soon after rolling it out.

“It was very disjointed,” recalls Chad Pook, VP of Administration for Mass Bankers. “There was one vendor for hypertension, one vendor for weight loss, another vendor for weight management. We wanted to consolidate that and make the user experience much more seamless.”

The Association’s benefits team realized that a better approach would be an integrated wellness solution that provided personalized care for a comprehensive range of physical and mental health needs. Since finding and implementing that solution, Mass Bankers has seen meaningful improvements in employee well-being, engagement and clinical outcomes, as well as a strong return on investment.

Virtual care is a core ingredient of the solution Mass Bankers chose, allowing support to reach employees where they are, when they need it. The Association’s experience demonstrates how an integrated virtual care experience makes care more accessible to employees and more customizable to their individual needs.

A tested and effective vendor partner

An assessment of Mass Bankers’ member population revealed that support for managing cardiometabolic conditions needed particular attention. “We were able to identify that a number of our membership was struggling with these concerns,” Pook says.

Since the Association was happy with the existing diabetes management program it had through Teladoc Health, Pook and his team decided to partner with Teladoc Health again to implement a more expansive cardiometabolic program. Now, along with diabetes and prediabetes, the program is designed to help participants with weight loss and managing hypertension.

With Teladoc Health, Mass Bankers has found a healthcare solution that is easy for both administrators and patients to use.

“At Teladoc Health, we believe that integration requires coordination within our platform, across devices and care teams to create that seamless, connected experience that eliminates the friction that most patients are experiencing today,” says Teladoc Health Chief Client Officer Kristen Moody.

Solid results tell the story

Preparations for administering the Mass Bankers program included Teladoc Health’s deep analysis of employees’ clinical data to estimate the number of likely participants. “Like all employers, we have finite resources, so we wanted to get a sense of what the financial implications might be as we looked to expand our program,” Pook says.

Through the Teladoc Health Engagement Center, Pook can update and customize informational materials to help promote the program to members. Teladoc Health also facilitates a smooth connection between Mass Bankers and its medical carrier, enabling data sharing that creates a seamless user experience.

“Somebody who’s identified as having high blood pressure, for example, is quickly passed along to Teladoc Health and provided support with the program,” Pook adds.

Data on clinical outcomes since the program was implemented are impressive and encouraging. Participants who entered the diabetes management program with an A1C level of seven points or higher saw an average two point reduction. Eighty percent of those in the hypertension management program have maintained or improved their blood pressure control. And 31 percent of participating members achieved a weight loss of at least 10 percent after six months.

An evaluation of the program’s financial ROI revealed a 3.1 return for the diabetes management program and a 1.6 ROI overall. Pook says the Association is glad to see its investment pay off financially.

“But I always go back to member experience,” he says. “Not included in the ROI is the fact that these programs are made totally free for our membership to engage in and use.”

Actionable takeaways for other employers

Pook and Moody point to several lessons from the Mass Bankers experience for other employers looking to build their own integrated employee wellness solution.

• Employers still working with multiple point solutions should seriously consider consolidating them under one vendor, Pook advises. “We love the one-stop shop for care of all of these conditions under the same umbrella,” he says. “And quite honestly—quite selfishly—it makes my job as the plan administrator easier.”

• Make sure the program enables data-based decision making. “We want to know how the plan is performing and whether our efforts are yielding results,” Pook says.
• Choose a vendor partner that works to understand your organization’s needs, Pook adds, because there is no one-size-fits-all solution.
• While virtual care can be an important success driver in an integrated employee wellness program, Moody warns against viewing it as a standalone solution. “You need a vendor that can orchestrate the connection across patients, providers and solutions throughout the benefit ecosystem, and enable seamless care throughout the patient experience,” she says.

Through partnerships with employers like Mass Bankers and others, Teladoc Health has shown its ability to do just that.

“We're delivering and orchestrating care across multiple touchpoints in the patient's journey,” Moody says. “The platform connects data across systems. It integrates devices with virtual and in-person care and enables seamless cooperation among those care teams.”