New MyHealthCoach.com Website Helps Employers Control Healthcare Costs

Hummingbird Coaching Services has released a new online health site, MyHealthCoach.com, that shows prospective companies how they can harness the Internet to control healthcare costs and encourage healthy lifestyles among employees.

The adoption of wellness programs has grown exponentially in the last few years as healthcare costs continue to rise. Hummingbirdís new website provides companies investigating such programs well-documented information and resources to evaluate online coaching for such goals as weight management, blood pressure and cholesterol control, nutrition and smoking cessation.

In addition, MyHealthCoach.com provides quick links to key points within the content, videos explaining the online coach system and company philosophy, FAQs, and a detailed walk-through of the typical coaching process.

Hummingbird is a pioneer in online health coaching. Its proprietary online coaching system, developed by Drs. Neal and Donna Mayerson, is built around the science of Positive Psychology and provides unique benefits over face-to-face and telephonic models. Significantly, an online coaching relationship is more efficient and engaging than telephonic.

ìThe online relationship is streamlined for the coach and participant, eliminating phone tag in setting or keeping appointments,î said Sean Slovenski, co-founder and chief executive officer. ìParticipants often feel a sense of relief just sending an email (or making journal entries) at any time, even if the coachís response comes on the next business day. By composing an email and putting their thoughts in writing, they can get to the heart of the question at hand.î

Such a unique contact strategy promotes participation, added Slovenski. At their convenience, enrollees use technologies they know: live chat (IM), email, online journal and activity logs and phone, if desired. The ability for employees to connect frequently and conveniently with the coach facilitates a strong relationship. Based on a Health Risk Analysis all clients take before entering the program, the coach initiates and tracks the clientís plans, providing on-going support for lasting change.

This is a significant contrast with other services that provide only a limited question and answer format online or one to two calls per year. Simply answering questions doesnít necessarily move the employee to a successful outcome ñ or control or lower a companyís health care costs. And since Hummingbird Coaching is ëon-demand,í online enrollees receive an average of four contacts per month, compared with five to seven annually for the average telephonic participant.

Slovenski added that well over 90 percent of the interactions between coaches and participants are through email and journal features of the secure website. This one-on-one communication provides similar strengths as face-to-face interaction. Interaction is boiled down to the most meaningful information, as clients write and perhaps rewrite their thoughts to say what they really intend. Both coach and client approach core issues more quickly than in telephonic sessions.

Features within Hummingbirdís proprietary software make the online counseling more directed and efficient, contributing to more controlled costs within wellness programs and more lasting change in the clients. For instance, all client interaction and all the coach’s notes are automated to save hours of documentation per client. Also, surveys and assessments that clients take at the beginning and throughout the engagement ñ either self-directed or assigned ñ help them learn more about themselves and assist coaches with data collection in order to help clients make true behavior change.

Significantly, an independent analysis by a Fortune 500 company projected the use of Hummingbirdís coaching to account for a 23 percent decrease in their medical costs -- an average annualized ROI of $5.50 for each dollar spent. This enables Hummingbird to deliver online coaching services at a cost of 50 percent less than their competitors.

The anonymity of online coaching encourages more honest feedback and self-reporting, contributing to higher success rates. Participants maintain an ongoing relationship with the same coach ñ not rotating like many telephone models ñ increasing trust and accountability.

Hummingbirdís free white paper further explains the efficiencies and return on investment provided by online coaching. ìThe Tipping Point in Health Coaching: Lower Costs and Higher ROI With On-Demand Online Coachingî is available for download at http://www.myhealthcoach.com/default.aspx?tabid=8053.

Hummingbirdís coaches must have a minimum of a bachelorís degree, and 80 percent have Masterís degrees in such fields as counseling, health education, nursing, nutrition and fitness. After a four-month certification program, coaches must demonstrate their skill and proficiency through a rigorous test-in and test out process, skills and qualification tests, supervised apprenticeship and ongoing in-service training. Weekly and monthly professional oversight ensures coaching quality is maintained.