WebMD Ignite Launches New Tool to Enhance Care Management for Health Plan Providers

This platform integrates into care managers’ workflows, enabling more personalized member interactions and improving engagement in healthcare.

WebMD Ignite has unveiled a new tool named Coach, to enhance care management programs for health insurers. 

This platform integrates into care managers’ workflows, enabling more personalized member interactions and improving engagement in healthcare.

Coach is designed to address insurers' key challenge: personalized engagement in care management programs. 

The platform allows care managers to deliver targeted educational materials and resources through the member's preferred communication channels, such as phone, email, text messages, chat, or even physical mail. 

With this feature, Coach seeks to streamline interactions between care managers and members, ensuring that the right information reaches the individual in the format that works best for them.

WebMD Ignite's data analytics capability is another key aspect of this tool. Insurers can track individual member progress and generate population-wide reports, allowing them to assess the success of their care management initiatives. This helps insurers refine their programs and better serve their member base.

Ann Bilyew, Executive Vice President of Health and President of the Healthcare Solutions Group at WebMD Ignite, spoke about creating a "seamless" healthcare experience for members. 

"It’s one human, whether they’re in the member lane or the patient lane. Our true north is to create a seamless journey for that human so they’re getting a consistent message and a consistent voice that is personalized for their unique set of circumstances," she said.

Expanding Health Engagement Tools

The Coach platform is built upon the foundation laid by WebMD Ignite’s member engagement platform, HealthHub Interactive, which was launched in April. HealthHub Interactive helps health plan members make more informed healthcare decisions beyond the clinical setting. 

It provides access to medically-reviewed written content, 3D animations, and videos available in 17 languages, which care managers can use to enhance their discussions with members.

The coach also aids insurers in executing public health campaigns, such as flu vaccination outreach. This ensures that key messages reach the right people, improving health campaign effectiveness and ensuring members stay informed about essential health measures.

Bilyew emphasized the importance of trust in the member-care manager relationship, stating that personalized engagement is essential in fostering member retention.

"Providing personalized interactions is key to building trust, and Coach helps create that bridge. If a member believes that a plan cares about them and is trying to engage with them around health topics that are tailored to them, they’ll feel connected," she added.

Strengthening Care Management at Scale

WebMD Ignite’s vast content resources and recently added materials from Healthwise and Crain's make the platform stand out in a market where many care management tools are still in early development. 

The platform's scale and the depth of its content library provide a significant advantage to insurers seeking solutions that can be deployed broadly.

"I think most of our clients today are looking for businesses that can compete at scale and can serve them at scale," Bilyew said.

This focus on scalability positions WebMD Ignite’s Coach platform as a significant player in the care management landscape. It helps insurers manage care effectively while ensuring personalized, meaningful interactions between care managers and members.