When an employee is living with complex healthcare needs, such as a chronic condition, it can take a toll on multiple aspects of their life.
Between managing medications, coordinating specialist appointments, and battling chronic fatigue, they push through their workday — often in silence — while masking how they truly feel. They juggle deadlines and responsibilities all while coping with pain, brain fog, or stress.
For those living with a chronic condition, this isn't just an occasional challenge: This is everyday reality. These conditions can affect employees’ personal well-being, productivity, engagement, and financial stability, making it essential that they receive the support they need to lead strong, vigorous, and healthy lives.
Employers are in a unique position to help. By implementing strategic healthcare solutions, organizations can provide the support employees need to navigate complex healthcare challenges, leading to better health outcomes, lower costs, and a more engaged workforce.
Chronic conditions are medical conditions that last more than a year and require ongoing medical treatment. These commonly include cancer, diabetes, kidney disease, lung disease, heart disease, and Alzheimer’s disease.
Many chronic conditions are preventable and caused by behaviors such as excessive alcohol use, poor nutrition, smoking, or lack of physical activity. They also contribute to 90% of the country’s $4.5 trillion in healthcare costs each year.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 6 out of 10 people in the U.S. have at least one chronic condition, with 4 out of 10 people living with two or more chronic conditions at a time. That’s a huge population in need of support and understanding — and not just from their doctor’s office.
Complex healthcare conditions can make it difficult for working patients to balance their professional obligations and duties. The multiple healthcare providers and specialty physicians, medications, treatments, and appointments required to manage their conditions can have a severe impact on employee productivity, mental health, and job satisfaction — not to mention drive up their employer’s healthcare spend and lead to financial difficulties for the employee.
Employers are in a unique position to provide the key support their employees need when living with chronic, complex healthcare conditions.
Consider implementing these strategies — from tailored healthcare solutions to empathetic communication and more — to support your employees’ complex healthcare needs:
The healthcare industry can be difficult and frustrating for the average patient to navigate. Add in a chronic condition, and obtaining the right services becomes much more complicated.
Care navigators can be the perfect solution. These professionals help guide employees through healthcare decisions by coordinating details and time-consuming tasks, such as finding a provider, scheduling care, and transferring medical records. They take the burden off a patient’s shoulders, ensuring members find the highest-quality care possible at the most affordable price.
The best care navigation solutions, such as NaVcare from Vālenz Health®, are tailored to each employer and member. By working one-on-one with members to deliver personalized guidance, NaVcare’s care navigators proactively identify members with chronic conditions who may benefit from comprehensive care management, which can also help avoid high-cost, serious events.
The NaVcare solution can be bolstered with Valenz Disease Management services, which provide each qualified member with a case manager. This case manager supplies care coordination, careful monitoring, and other supportive services to ensure members are effectively managing their chronic conditions and maintaining activities that improve their health.
Employers can help ensure employees have additional support throughout their healthcare journey by providing dedicated, open lines of communication.
Employee assistance programs can offer support for stress management and mental health. When paired with a concierge program, such as NaVcare, members also have access to care navigators, who can answer questions about benefits and eligibility and find and coordinate effective pharmacy solutions.
Case management programs can also be beneficial for managing employee health after an illness or injury. These services help members receive necessary, in-network care that meets optimal outcomes and reduces healthcare costs, ER visits, hospitalizations, and other expensive medical events.
Frequent communication is key with these programs. Employees should be informed about the resources available to them through regular emails, meetings, and detailed benefits portals. Employers should also provide guidance on how to use these solutions, such as explaining how to connect with a care navigator, understand cost estimates, and compare care options.
Finally, employers can (and should) go beyond these efforts to provide emotional and logistical support where appropriate. Regularly reaching out to employees with chronic conditions can validate their position as valued team members, demonstrate that you care about them, and prevent feelings of isolation.
Employers can also consider offering flexible scheduling and remote work to accommodate employees’ health needs and complicated appointment schedules.
Healthcare navigation tools can manage costs and ensure employees have the resources they need to make informed healthcare decisions.
By steering members toward high-value care, navigation tools improve the efficiency of care and reduce unnecessary treatments. They can also improve employee health outcomes, including reduced hospitalizations and fewer missed days at work, and have a positive impact on company culture, showing that employee well-being is a top concern for the organization.
For example, NaVcare Enhanced with Care Value Optimizer from Valenz helps members find the best available care by connecting them with high-quality providers with little-to-no-cost charity care options, ensuring that members receive the care they need at a cost they can afford.
This solution can also be enhanced with utilization management services. During this process, when a member receives a new diagnosis or treatment recommendation, nurses perform a clinical review to ensure it is medically necessary and it aligns with an appropriate level of care for the condition, avoiding expenses related to unnecessary or excessive treatments.
With the rate of chronic condition diagnoses expected to climb over the next two decades, today’s employers can set the groundwork for the future by providing helpful support for their employees’ complex healthcare needs.
By implementing solutions such as healthcare navigation and personalized member support tools, employers can play an active role in helping employees make informed decisions, have easier access to the care they need, and improve their healthcare outcomes.
Trusted providers, such as Valenz, can help you bolster your current healthcare benefits with support and navigation services designed for your employees’ unique needs. Connect with our team to find out how you can support your employees with smarter, better, faster healthcare today.