Companies Offering Online Health Coaching Services to Employees Reduce Health Care Costs by 23 Percent
Online health coaching from Hummingbird Coaching Services provides a cost reduction of 23% in health care for one employer, equivalent to a return on investment of $5.50 for every dollar spent. Online health coaching makes a personal connection between the client and one coach, creating real behavior change for the client and increased productivity and lower health care costs for the employer.
Cincinnati, OH (PRWEB) September 26, 2006 -- There are few certainties in life. The sun will rise and set, good art won’t match your sofa, and health care costs will continue to rise. In fact, health care costs are expected to rise as much as 50 percent over the next three years. As these costs increase, more companies are choosing to supplement or overhaul their benefit plans to include options that allow employees to assume more control of their health care expenses. One option that offers advantages for both companies and employees is online health coaching.
An independent study indicates that companies using online health coaching services from Hummingbird Coaching have http://wwww.myhealthcoach.com (reduced health care costs) by 23 percent after using the service for six months. This is equivalent to a return of investment of $5.50 for every dollar spent. In contrast, other types of health interventions, including telephonic coaching and static information-only Web sites offer return of investments of only $3.00 for every dollar spent.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the medical care costs of people with chronic diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease account for more than 75 percent of the nation’s $1.4 trillion medical care costs. Online coaching programs promote behavioral changes that lead to healthier lifestyles, limiting the onset of chronic diseases. This reduces the likelihood that employees will need costly medical treatment in the future. In addition, near-term benefits of improved employee health include increased productivity and morale.
Hummingbird’s online coaching program enables users to work with a health coach to develop a personalized, goal-oriented action plan. This may include, but is not limited to, losing weight, getting in shape, quitting smoking, improving stress management, lowering cholesterol, enhancing parenting skills and building better personal relationships in their life.
Online Health Coaching Proves More Effective
In addition to reducing health care costs, online health coaching is more effective than other forms of health interventions for managing weight loss and smoking cessation. Studies have shown that when used for weight management, online health coaching is two to three times more effective than content-only health Web sites, and as effective as face-to-face counseling.
Furthermore, individuals with cardiovascular disease who combined an online health coaching program with general physician care lost significantly more weight and experienced fewer cardiovascular events. Online health coaching is also effective in helping diabetic patients manage their A1C, HDL and triglyceride levels. In fact, online support was found to be superior to usual care from a primary care physician.
"Online health coaching provides a great alternative to traditional health Web sites that merely regurgitate the same generic health information to everyone," said Sean Slovenski, president and CEO of Hummingbird Coaching. "Individuals have different health goals and lifestyles and can’t be expected to approach behavioral change in the same way. Using Hummingbird’s online health coaching program, individuals work with their coach to tailor an individualized program specific to their lifestyle and goals."
Hummingbird recently published a white paper written by company founder and chairman, Dr. Neal H. Mayerson, which details the history of online health coaching and addresses its effectiveness, efficiency, and proven results. The white paper is available at no cost from the http://www.hummingbirdcoaching.com (Hummingbird Coaching Website).
About Hummingbird Coaching Services
Cincinnati-based Hummingbird Coaching Services has been providing a unique form of one-on-one health coaching since 1997. Using their proprietary coaching model and online delivery platform, Hummingbird provides coaching services to businesses and organizations such as Motorola, United Healthcare, the Leeza Gibbons Memory Foundation, and the Muhammad Ali Center.
Through its innovative technology platform and coaching programs, Hummingbird provides health, parenting and life coaching that drive real behavior change for individuals. For more information about Hummingbird Coaching, visit www.hummingbirdcoaching.com.
This press release was distributed through eMediawire by Human Resources Marketer (HR Marketer: www.HRmarketer.com) on behalf of the company listed above.
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