Better Health Releases New Research on the Psychological and Health Impact of its Peer Coaching Program

Peer coaching presents an opportunity to better support members with chronic conditions and delivers cost savings to healthcare partners

SAN FRANCISCO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Better Health, the company modernizing the medical supply industry, released a whitepaper today with new data about the psychological and health impact of its Novel Peer Coaching Program. The program launched earlier this year and is initially targeting individuals with an ostomy, who often don’t receive the care and support they need following their surgeries. Ostomy patients have a 29.1% readmission rate, the second-highest 30-day readmission rate for surgical procedures.

Better Health’s preliminary findings from the coaching program show a dramatic reduction in utilization of care and improved health outcomes for ostomy coaching participants, with over 60% of participants reporting that they were able to avoid an unnecessary healthcare visit after a single session.

“We’ve found that peer support and coaching is a proven, cost-effective strategy to improve outcomes for ostomy care and chronic care management,” said Better Health CEO and Co-Founder Naama Stauber Breckler. “Coaching is just one part of the holistic solution that we offer and we’re already seeing significant results. With one of our early partners, Humana, their members reported a 67% decrease in stress levels after just one coaching session.”

Other significant outcomes from the white paper include:

• 64% reported they were able to avoid a visit to their doctor or hospital as a direct result of participating in a coaching session.
• Nearly 85% of participants showed ostomy adjustment in as little as two weeks following coaching.
• Over 35% reported decreased anxiety.
• Nearly 50% reported reduced psychological distress.

Based on the early successes, Better Health is working with Medicare Advantage payers looking for solutions to better serve these previously neglected populations. According to Better Health advisor Robert Mirsky, MD, who previously served as Chief Medical Officer for Aetna Medicare, Better Health’s clinical results show that this care model is compelling, not only for the ostomy community but also for other vulnerable populations.

“Offering best-in-class DME supplies along with peer coaching is a singular approach to improving the quality of life and overall health outcomes for underserved populations. This goes beyond those with ostomies because it combines a medical component with a psychosocial overlay,” said Dr. Mirsky, “In the future, Better Health is well-positioned to broaden the scope of the program to serve other conditions where their programs can drive even greater impact to those populations.”

Dr. Rosemary Ku, MD, who co-authored the whitepaper agrees about the wide-ranging effect this model can have. “Peer coaching has been shown to improve mental health, self-efficacy, chronic disease management, and even social determinants of health, such as loneliness and isolation,” she said. “The opportunity to receive peer support from someone who understands firsthand what it takes to adjust to life after surgery provides a unique and scalable form of psychosocial support to patients.”

Individuals who participated in Better Health’s coaching program reported improvements after just one session.

“My coach was so knowledgeable and caring. This was a very trying ordeal but with her help, it’s not as bad,” said one coaching participant. “It was fantastic to talk to someone who has an ostomy and understands my feelings and problems. There are no ostomy nurses available in my area so I had to go to the ER and they weren’t helpful either. I would love to speak to my coach again.”

Better Health plans to expand its holistic care model and offer a greater variety of telehealth services that will be covered by patients’ insurance plans. This comprehensive care model will focus not only on physical health but also on patients’ emotional and mental states, as well as their social and structural factors of health. The company is engaging with payers to show the impact on both claims and star ratings.

To read the complete whitepaper, visit: https://joinbetter.com/pages/white-papers

About Better Health

Co-founded by Naama Stauber Breckler and Adam Breckler, Better Health is a new type of healthcare provider offering an end-to-end chronic condition care solution, bundling home delivery of medical supplies, peer-support, education, and telehealth. Better Health currently operates in 46 states, and its services are covered by insurance for more than 170M lives across the country. Its insurance partners include Medicare, Medicaid, Oscar Health, and Humana, among others. For more information, please visit https://joinbetter.com/

Contacts

Katie Brashear, Pitch Public Relations, [email protected]