NEW YORK, Nov. 28, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Northeast Business Group on Health (NEBGH) today released “Digital Tools and Solutions for Diabetes: An Employer’s Guide,” an update to its inaugural guide introduced in 2016 for employers interested in exploring the use of digital tools and solutions for their efforts to help employees prevent and manage diabetes. The guide is designed to help employers determine which digital features are most important in addressing the specific challenges they face with their workplace diabetes programs, and serve as a starting point for matching solutions.
“Employers are well aware of the costs associated with diabetes in their employee and dependent populations. They continue to indicate this is a top concern and are increasingly aware of the links between diabetes and other chronic and debilitating health conditions, including cardiovascular disease,” said Candice Sherman, CEO of NEBGH. “The market for digital diabetes prevention and management solutions continues to mature since we published the first guide. Some tools have been enhanced with additional features, new solutions have entered the market and others have been acquired or left the market. As employers refine their programs and benefit strategies, we decided this was an ideal time to update the guide to reflect changes in the market and profile a current set of digital solutions available to employers.”
The 32-page guide cites eight ways in which digital tools and solutions can make a difference in addressing diabetes – convenience, personalization, data collection and management, behavioral economics, coaching, socialization, supporting advanced primary care and integration with employer’s technology. It also provides comprehensive information on 26 diabetes tools, and includes a checklist to specific features each contains such as type of educational content, personal information tracking components, social networking connectivity, pricing, coaching and privacy issues.
The guide also provides information on several unique and innovative digital diabetes solutions that are being targeted to employers but were not part of NEBGH’s research, as well as information on “Do It Yourself” digital solutions. And importantly, the guide includes a discussion for employers that are considering implementing a digital diabetes tool or solutions and key questions employers should address including:
- What does the company want to achieve with a digital tool?
- How much is the company willing to pay?
- How will success be measured?
- How will digital solutions and tools be marketed to employees and their families?
- What privacy issues need to be addressed when tools or solutions are implemented?
“Digital health tools hold the promise of improved health outcomes and reduced healthcare expenses through improved engagement, better collaboration and sustained behavior change,” said Mark Cunningham-Hill, NEBGH’s medical director. “However, digital diabetes solutions are not a panacea. Employers will need to address several obstacles such as difficulty of recruitment and enrollment, lack of sustained employee engagement and the cost of deployment of digital solutions. This can be accomplished through careful planning and learning from other employers that have successfully implemented these tools.”
The guide is available free of charge to all employers and the public at large. It can be accessed here.
About Northeast Business Group on Health
NEBGH is an employer-led coalition of healthcare leaders and other stakeholders with the mission of empowering members to drive excellence in health and achieve the highest value in healthcare delivery and the consumer experience.
Media Contact:
Mark Cunningham-Hill
NEBGH
212.252.7440 ext. 221
Mark@nebgh.org