Healthcare IT News - May 2008 - (Page 31)

www.HealthcareITNews.com vENdoRS May 2008 ■ Healthcare IT News 31 themselves as health risks.” Albrecht says employees don’t spend much time on benefits portals set up by their employers because those resources tend to be static. By reaching out to them with an interactive, holistic platform, he says, employees are compelled to feel good about their personal health and to make their workplace more productive. Limeade, which boasts about 10 employees, launched its pilot in fall 2007 and now numbers 10 company deployments, reaching about 10,000 users. Employee Vitality, for which employers are billed on a per-employee, per-month basis, is open-ended, allowing it to be integrated with an employer’s existing health plan. Among the company’s established competitors are WebMD and Mayo Clinic Health Solutions. And the name of the company? “We wanted to pick something that meant ‘real’ and ‘refreshing’ and ‘positive’ and ‘different.’” Albrecht says. ■ More at HealthcareITNews.com e Connect: wellNeSS 0508 “the partnership provides patients with the opportunity to SpEaK thEIR MINd aBout thEIR caRE EXpERIENcE and pay tribute to the nurses that have made a difference in their lives.” – Michael B. O’Neil, Jr. WEllNEss Continued from page 30 NursEs of an employee. “Employees are treated as people rather than sources of information for health costs,” says Albrecht, a former executive with Intuit who sees Limeade’s approach doing for workplace wellness what Quicken does for personal finances. With healthcare costs skyrocketing, wellness programs are enjoying the spotlight – as are the companies who provide them. The American Journal of Health Promotion estimates the corporate wellness field to reach $1.6 billion by 2010 and $5.8 billion by 2015, while the Association for Worksite Health Promotion estimates that every dollar invested in worksite wellness will generate $5 in savings to the company. Albrecht isn’t worried about numbers or ROI. “Employers are looking for approaches that their employees can embrace,” he says. “This is actually about things (employees) care about – they don’t think of ● Continued from page 30 increases in nurse retention and the related decrease in nurse recruitment investments are big wins for a hospital or healthcare provider,” he pointed out. “Offering patients a convenient and straightforward means of using the TV in their patient room to nominate their caregiver for recognition draws more patients into the process and is ultimately more effective towards the end goal of rewarding and retaining a hospital’s best nurses,” he added. Established in 1999 by the Barnes family in memory of J. Patrick Barnes, who died at age 33 of complications from Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura – a bleeding condition in which the blood doesn’t clot – the DAISY Foundation seeks to honor nurses for their efforts through the DAISY Award and the J. Patrick Barnes Grants for Nursing Research and Evidence-Based Practice Projects. “Nurses often go unrecognized for their tremendously skillful and compassionate care,” said Bonnie Barnes, president and co-founder of the DAISY Foundation. “The DAISY Foundation is committed to honoring nurses across the country for all that they do. Our partnership with GetWellNetwork furthers this mission by enabling hospitals to more effectively identify the unsung heroes, as well as allowing us to expand our award program to other hospital communities.” Among the participants in the program is the Medical University of South Carolina. “The nurses … play a critical role in the patients’ experience during their hospital stay,” said Marilyn Schaffner, administrator for clinical services and chief nursing executive at the hospital. “By leveraging the GetWellNetwork system to facilitate the DAISY Award program, it is easy for us to provide these nurses the recognition and appreciation they truly deserve.” This past January, the DAISY Foundation and the American Organization of Nurse Executives announced a plan to expand the program to every hospital in the country that wishes to incorporate it into their nurse recognition and retention strategies. ■ More at HealthcareITNews.com e Connect: NurSeS 0508 Taking care of the little things makes all the difference. We connect more providers to more payers than anyone else. But what really sets us apart is all the little things we do for both that make the business of claims and payments so much more efficient. Discover how Emdeon is changing the business of healthcare. Visit www.emdeon.com today. Simplifying the Business of Healthcare ● e ● Connect: eMDeoN 0508 Patient Access Management • Claim Management • Remittance & Payment Distribution • Patient Billing & Payment http://www.HealthcareITNews.com http://HealthcareITNews.com http://www.healthcareitnews.com/story.cms?id=9191 http://www.emdeon.com http://www.emdeon.com http://HealthcareITNews.com http://www.healthcareitnews.com/story.cms?id=9211 http://www.healthcareitnews.com/story.cms?id=9181

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Healthcare IT News - May 2008 Contents Help Wanted Speeding Up Government Silos Privacy Pressures Tracking Disease Rah Rah Health! TriZetto Suit Outcomes Watch Ambulatory EHRs

Healthcare IT News - May 2008

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