Aetna Offers New Suite of Health and Wellness Programs for the Worksite.-Wellness Services Delivered in Person Shown to Have Better Enrollment and Engagement Rates- HARTFORD, Conn. -- Aetna (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange : AET AET Aetna, Inc. AET After Extra Time AET Actual Evapotranspiration AET Alliance for Environmental Technology AET Alpha-Ethyltryptamine AET Applied Extrusion Technologies, Inc. ) announced today that it is now offering worksite health and wellness services to employers. The Aetna Health Connections Direct2You(SM) product suite offers a range of services within the workplace including biometric screenings that measure cholesterol, blood pressure, weight and height, wellness services such as counseling about preventive care Preventive care is a set of measures taken in advance of symptoms to prevent illness or injury. This type of care is best exemplified by routine physical examinations and immunizations. The emphasis is on preventing illnesses before they occur. See also
phar·ma·cist n. , disease management, and acute care services. The information gathered at the worksite is connected to other health programs purchased by the employer - giving them a complete health and wellness picture of their employee population, while assuring confidentiality of personal health information. "At a time when employers are searching for ways to improve their employees' overall health and control health care costs, worksite wellness services are receiving increased attention," said Dan Fishbein, M.D., head of New Product Businesses at Aetna. "Not only can employers enhance their existing employee benefits package by offering onsite health and wellness services, but Aetna's offering is an attractive option in these difficult economic times because the services can be delivered whether or not an employer has an onsite health center. The offering saves employers time and money, while delivering a solution that is proven to better engage employees in improving their health." The Aetna Health Connections Direct2You offering can be implemented whether or not the employer has an existing onsite medical clinic. Employers who purchase the program choose from a menu of programs and services best suited for their employees. The offerings include: * Health and Wellness Services: Aetna will directly provide disease management coaching, wellness counseling and pharmacy consultations staffed by Aetna nurses, clinicians and pharmacists. For employers who choose to offer pharmacy consultations, an onsite Aetna pharmacist will provide individual face-to-face counseling sessions with employees. The pharmacist will explain how and when to take the medicine, any common side effects Side effects Effects of a proposed project on other parts of the firm. , and the importance of adhering to the doctor's directions, especially for medications associated with chronic conditions. The onsite pharmacist will also assist with mail-order enrollment and generic drug generic drug, a drug sold or prescribed under the nonproprietary name of its active ingredients or under a generally descriptive name rather than under a brand or trade name. opportunities, as appropriate. * Biometric Screening: Through business partners such as Quest Labs or Summit Health, Aetna will provide biometric health screenings to help identify potential health issues such as high cholesterol Cholesterol, High Definition Cholesterol is a fatty substance found in animal tissue and is an important component to the human body. It is manufactured in the liver and carried throughout the body in the bloodstream. , diabetes or other health conditions. * Counseling: Aetna's Employee Assistance Program, which helps people balance the demands of work, life and personal issues, will be delivered at the worksite by network providers from Aetna's EAP network of professionals. The counseling resources can provide help for employees struggling with elder or child care issues, marital problems, financial stress and a variety of educational resources to help employees at any life stage. * Acute Care Services: Beginning later this year, Aetna will partner with vendors to offer acute care services, staffed by a physician or nurse practitioner nurse practitioner n. Abbr. NP A registered nurse with special training for providing primary health care, including many tasks customarily performed by a physician. , to provide treatment for infections, ear aches, sore throats Sore Throat Definition Sore throat, also called pharyngitis, is a painful inflammation of the mucous membranes lining the pharynx. It is a symptom of many conditions, but most often is associated with colds or influenza. , flu and other illnesses. Watson Wyatt and the National Business Group on Health released the results of a national survey of 573 U.S. companies that employ at least 1,000 workers. The study showed that 29 percent of companies planned to offer an onsite health center in 2008 and those numbers are expected to grow in 2009 and beyond. Furthermore, research shows that onsite programs using face-to-face coaching and motivational interviewing Motivational interviewing refers to a counseling approach initially developed by clinical psychologists Professor William R Miller, Ph.D. and Professor Stephen Rollnick, Ph.D. techniques result in higher engagement levels than telephonic only delivery of programs. In fact, the journal Disease Management reported that enrollment rates in programs delivered face-to-face are significantly higher than programs delivered via telephone - 79 percent to just 25 percent. Aetna recently opened an onsite health clinic for the 3,000 employees in its Hartford, Conn. headquarters building. The "Wellness Works" center offers employees the convenience of a full service pharmacy, physician and nursing staff to provide confidential care of common illnesses, lab services, wellness screenings and coaching, disease management coaching, financial counseling and other services. About Aetna Aetna is one of the nation's leading diversified health care benefits companies, serving approximately 36.5 million people with information and resources to help them make better informed decisions about their health care. Aetna offers a broad range of traditional and consumer-directed health insurance products and related services, including medical, pharmacy, dental, behavioral health Behavioral health was first used in the 1980's to name the combination of the fields mental health and substance abuse. As an example, an organization serving both mental health and substance abuse clients might refer to its practice as behavioral health or , group life and disability plans, and medical management capabilities and health care management services for Medicaid plans. Our customers include employer groups employer group Association of employers Managed care An entity with a current group benefits agreement in effect with a health plan to provide covered health care services to its employee-subscribers and eligible dependents. , individuals, college students, part-time and hourly workers, health plans, governmental units, government-sponsored plans, labor groups and expatriates. For more information, see www.aetna.com |
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