"The Big Picture" Newsletter

March 2008 Issue

CIGNA to Launch New HRA and Online Coaching

Tools enable earlier risk identification and intervention  

Beginning March 31, CIGNA members will have access to a new, more powerful health risk assessment (HRA) tool designed to help drive higher levels of member engagement in preventive and health improvement practices. Through our exclusive arrangement with the University of Michigan Health Management Research Center (UM-HMRC), members will have access to a customized version of the nationally recognized UM-HMRC questionnaire, which also includes productivity questions designed by Ron Kessler at Harvard Medical School. All HRA data responses will be analyzed through the sophisticated UM-HMRC’s Trend Management System™ (TMS), which in turn helps us connect members with the most appropriate prevention and health improvement intervention strategies – including our new online health coaching tools.

CIGNA is the only health services company in the U.S. with access to TMS. The addition of TMS to our suite of predictive tools enables us to use HRA data to forecast, with 83% accuracy, which members will become the next high utilizers of health care services in the next 2-3 years. TMS will also define optimal personalized health outreach strategies for each member, enabling us to direct our interventions and programs earlier and more precisely – where and when they will have the greatest impact on improving health and productivity and lowering costs.

After completing the Health Risk Assessment members will immediately receive a personalized health profile report that includes an overall wellness score, their top three risks, and recommended actions to improve their health. They’ll also immediately receive an invitation to online coaching for fitness, nutrition, sleep, and/or stress, based on risks identified in their HRA. Coaching occurs over a multi-week period and members receive regular emails with tips, suggestions and tools to help them stay focused and motivated to make the necessary behavior changes to improve their health status. 

With this new HRA, CIGNA will also be able to deliver more in-depth HRA reporting to its employer customers – including population summary reports that include HRA completion rates, online coaching participation and population risk statistics – all designed to help enable more strategic decision making.  

The new tools will be available in the new Health and Wellness Center page on myCIGNA.com and mycareallies.com on March 31. Click here to view a brief demo of the new tools.     

<< March 2008 Big Picture newsletter