Highmark Health launches diabetes management program
Highmark Health is launching Well360 Diabetes Management, a virtual care program powered by Onduo, a Verily company, for adults with type 2 diabetes. As part of Highmark Health’s Living Health model, the program is designed to give members simple, personalized, and proactive support to better manage the chronic condition, improve health outcomes and reduce costs.
The Well360 Diabetes Management program is now available to most Highmark health insurance members who have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and are over 18 years of age. Onduo will proactively reach out to those qualified members, who can then enroll in the program by visiting the Well360 Diabetes Management web page or downloading the Onduo mobile app. The program is fully virtual, accessible from anywhere on any connected device and with no cost to the member.
“We’re thrilled to be offering our first Living Health solution to a broad population of Highmark members. As an on-demand access point to care, Well360 Diabetes Management is one milestone on Highmark Health’s journey to unite payers, providers, tech innovators, and the community to build a health ecosystem that works better for everyone.” – Karen Hanlon, chief operating officer, Highmark Health.
The joint pilot of Well360 Diabetes Management conducted by Highmark Health and Onduo saw 92% of participating members with a baseline A1C of 9.0% or greater improve their A1C by an average of 2.7 points upon follow-up. Additionally, members who reported losing weight lost an average of 13.3 pounds, or 5.7% of their starting weight.
“We believe that Well360 Diabetes Management will lead Highmark’s members with diabetes to engage more proactively — and with actionable information — in a two-way dialogue with clinicians, who can intervene to improve short- and long-term health outcomes. Eliminating fragmentation in health care can do more than improve traditional health outcomes and costs; it can reduce the everyday stress of managing chronic conditions, engage patients in whole-person health and improve their quality of life.” – Tony Farah, MD, executive vice president, chief medical and clinical transformation officer, Highmark Health.
Once enrolled, members will be assigned a care coordinator to develop a personalized management plan and help with medication compliance, healthy eating, exercising and more. Other Onduo features include a virtual health clinic with access to endocrinologists and other clinicians, remote prescriptions, and care coordination with primary care physicians.
“Launching our type 2 diabetes platform marks a major milestone in Verily’s relationship with Highmark Health and is a unique opportunity to deliver tangible innovations that improve access and health outcomes for millions of their members nationwide. Applied at scale, we can reimagine the care experience and improve wellbeing by delivering precision health support for health plan customers and members of Highmark.” – Vindell Washington, MD, chief executive officer, Onduo, and chief clinical officer, Verily Health Platforms.
Members will also receive a welcome kit with a smart glucose monitor, an at-home A1C test kit, a lancing device, and unlimited testing strips. The smart glucose monitor connects seamlessly with the Onduo platform so members’ readings and progress can be tracked.
Employers with Highmark health insurance coverage can contact their client manager for more details on the Well360 Diabetes Management program for their members.
