New HealthMedia® Digital Coaching™ Programs Address Heart Disease Risk Factors and Help Reduce Health Care Costs

New programs for high blood pressure and cholesterol scale to entire employee population – completing suite of products that combat top 6 heart disease risk factors

Ann Arbor, MI - HealthMedia, Inc., a Johnson & Johnson company, introduced two new Digital Coaching™ programs that help lower cardiovascular disease risk for employee populations. HealthMedia®ACHIEVE™ and HealthMedia® CONTROL™ improve cholesterol and blood pressure self-management through comprehensive and scalable Digital Coaching™ that focuses on behavior change and personal motivation.

HealthMedia®Digital Coaching™ programs simulate a live health coaching session with the privacy, convenience, and 24/7 access that only the web can deliver. The programs help participants achieve recommended cholesterol and blood pressure ranges by promoting improved medication adherence, more effective working relationships with health care providers, better weight control, improved nutrition habits, and increased physical activity levels.

The two new products join the growing HealthMedia® family of sophisticated Digital Coaching™ programs for wellness, disease management, behavioral health, and medication adherence. HealthMedia® programs help employers reduce overall prevalence rates of modifiable health risk factors, decrease health care costs, and boost productivity. Employers now have access to the first cost-effective, proven digital health coaching suite that combats all six of the leading modifiable risk factors for heart disease identified by the American Heart Association: smoking, obesity, physical inactivity, high blood pressure, elevated blood cholesterol, and diabetes (Type 2).

“We found a way to tackle the leading causes of heart disease by turning unhealthy behaviors into long-term, healthy lifestyle behaviors across an employee population,” says Ted Dacko, president of HealthMedia, Inc.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, heart disease is one of the most preventable diseases and among the most widespread and costly health problems in the U.S. High blood pressure and high cholesterol are major risk factors for heart disease, and the American Heart Association estimates the direct and indirect costs of heart disease to be more than $304 billion a year in the U.S. HealthMedia® Digital Coaching™ programs help people control and prevent high blood pressure and high cholesterol (cholesterol levels of 240 mg/dl or above) – which affect 31 percent of U.S. adults, and 16 percent of U.S. adults, respectively, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

These national statistics do not reflect the prevalence and cost of those “at risk” for high blood pressure and cholesterol. HealthMedia®outcomes data provide new insights into the population at risk for high blood pressure and cholesterol. While 20 percent of people have reported high cholesterol, another 33 percent have reported borderline high cholesterol levels, which are often undetected. Additionally, 33 percent of people have reported high blood pressure, but more than 50 percent have reported elevated blood pressure (pre-hypertension) which, if left alone, can escalate into high blood pressure.

For employers, this large and unaddressed group poses a significant opportunity for cost avoidance through prevention. HealthMedia® customer claims data show that direct medical costs are an average of 46 percent higher for those with high cholesterol and 64 percent higher for those with high blood pressure. Average indirect costs due to lost productivity or absenteeism are estimated to be 46 percent higher for high blood pressure and 33 percent higher for high cholesterol.


HealthMedia® CONTROL™ for High Blood Pressure
HealthMedia® CONTROL™ helps people make changes to their behaviors in order to achieve recommended blood pressure ranges. The Digital Coaching™ program helps the participant understand the impact of elevated blood pressure and what a healthy blood pressure should be for his or her situation. The program helps the participant make lifestyle changes that can positively impact blood pressure by focusing on techniques for dealing with stress, acceptance and ownership of his/her condition, medication adherence, and working effectively with a health care team. The program helps participants attain outcomes including improved blood pressure ranges, weight loss, improved medication adherence, enhanced self-confidence, increased physical activity, better nutrition, and productivity improvements.


HealthMedia® ACHIEVE™ for High Cholesterol
HealthMedia® ACHIEVE™ helps people make changes to their behaviors in order to achieve recommended cholesterol ranges. High cholesterol, like high blood pressure, does not exhibit symptoms, so the Digital Coaching™ program helps the individual understand the impact of the various cholesterol types, such as LDL, HDL, and triglycerides, and how the individual can impact his or her cholesterol levels. Lifestyle changes such as improved nutrition, increased exercise, medication adherence, working effectively with a health care team, and gaining support from others all contribute to lower cholesterol. The program helps participants attain outcomes including improved cholesterol numbers, weight loss, improved medication adherence, lifestyle changes, increased physical activity, and productivity improvements.


The Digital Coach
A HealthMedia®Digital Coaching™ program begins with an online consultation, during which the digital coach collects information about the individual’s personal insights, motivation for change, and perceived barriers to achieving his or her goals. It then uses the proprietary HealthMedia®Fusion™ technology, applies advanced behavioral science and the latest scientific research on health conditions, and draws upon the expertise of hundreds of health care professionals such as physicians, psychologists, nutritionists, trainers, and behavioral scientists to deliver a unique plan for that individual.

Each personalized plan follows proven clinical guidelines while addressing the individual’s personal history, goals, emotional triggers, barriers, will power, beliefs, and current stage of change. Each participant receives personalized communications that are tailored visually to connect with his or her unique characteristics and lifestyle. These combined elements help to create an emotional connection with the participant that is designed to enhance the experience, build motivation, and improve outcomes.

HealthMedia® Digital Coaching™ is unique in that it is person-centric and works across multiple conditions and lifestyle factors, delivers consistent high-quality coaching every time, scales to any size population, and is private, confidential, and convenient. As a result, leading employers and health plans are achieving measurable outcomes that demonstrate improved productivity and reduced health care costs across their populations.


About HealthMedia, Inc.
HealthMedia, Inc., a Johnson & Johnson company, is an industry pioneer in developing digital health coaching programs that help organizations reduce health care costs by cost-effectively enhancing the health and wellness of their employees and members. The company combines its proprietary HealthMedia® Fusion™ technology and leading edge behavioral science to address the most problematic pain points facing the health industry today: participation, scalability, cost, efficacy, ownership and return on investment. The HealthMedia® suite of programs provides automated web-based coaching for wellness, disease management, behavioral health, and medication adherence with proven outcomes, increased compliance, reduced medical utilization, and increased productivity. Clients include Kaiser Permanente, Daiichi Sankyo, Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market, Inc., Community First Health Plans, and nine Blue Cross Blue Shield organizations across the United States. HealthMedia®partners include APS Healthcare, LifeSynch, SHPS, and StayWell Custom Communications, LLC. For more information, visit www.healthmedia.com.