A new survey released from Microsoft Corp. shows that Americans would like their health insurers and physicians to proactively use technology to help them build healthier lifestyles. The Microsoft Health Engagement Survey 2009, conducted by Kelton Research, found that consumers want electronic "coaching" via e-mail and phones to help them improve health habits, self-manage conditions and better coordinate care with providers (see also Health Insurance).

"Insurers can no longer wait for consumers to self-manage their chronic conditions through standalone Web tools," said Dennis Schmuland, M.D., U.S. health insurance industry solutions director at Microsoft. "Consumers want their providers and insurers to team together to help them replace bad health habits with good ones, reduce their health risks and equip them to self-manage their conditions. This requires a new generation of technology designed to proactively improve health and coordinate care at the individual and community levels."

According to the survey, 66 percent of Americans are interested in receiving health-related encouragement or reminder e-mails from their health insurance company and 52 percent would be open to receiving e-mails that provide them with feedback on their health progress. In addition, 62 percent of Americans believe that personal health record services are valuable.

Fragmentation a Barrier to Healthier Outcomes

More than half (55 percent) reported the healthcare system as fragmented in terms of helping people proactively manage their health. People who feel this way are far more likely to rely on general health Web sites for information, rather than doctors or health advisory hotlines that insurers offer (25 percent, versus 18 percent of those who feel the system is seamless).

In addition, despite insurers making great strides in recent years to add self-help tools and other improvements to their Web sites, almost half (49 percent) of insured Americans feel their health plans support them only when they need to visit a doctor, instead of helping them stay well. Of consumers who did access insurers' Web sites, 49 percent used it primarily to find a provider and 48 percent were looking for coverage information.

Technology for Health Engagement

The survey results point to the fact that technology is not yet helping Americans proactively manage their health. Currently, consumers reactively turn to health Web sites looking for information about a current issue or illness (68 percent) instead of to learn how to become healthier. However, consumers seem to be ready to incorporate technology into their health behavior. Almost four in five (77 percent) of Americans find the idea of technology helping solve their healthcare needs as "inviting" instead of "intimidating." While they prefer e-mail (66 percent) and the telephone (57 percent) as the best channels to communicate with their insurers, some also are open to text messaging (10 percent), instant messaging (7 percent) and videoconferencing (4 percent).

"This research is a wake-up call to the health insurance industry to start untethering much of the online tools and services they've tied to stand-alone member self-service portals and weave them into the consumer's daily digital world," said Chad Pomeroy, vice president for Innovation and eBusiness at WellPoint Inc., the nation's largest health benefits company, with approximately 35 million members in its affiliated health plans.

"That's why WellPoint is working with Microsoft to make health information more accessible and available," Pomeroy said. "We're exploring several opportunities with Microsoft that would allow our members to quickly and easily access their healthcare information to make more informed decisions. We hope to share these innovations with our members later this year."