– George J. Pantos, Esq., executive director of the Healthcare Performance Management Institute (www.hpminstitute.org), says:
New cloud computing technologies will revolutionize the way that employers deliver health benefits and how patients receive them, according to a just-released study from the Healthcare Performance Management Institute.
Many organizations preparing to comply with the federal health reform law are facing unexpected costs and concerns about their ability to provide high-quality benefits.
New cloud-computing technologies allow for unprecedented levels of collaboration among employers, employees, and those who deliver care.
In the past, executives had to make massive investments in data infrastructure that could support the analysis of health-benefits or other business-process data. But now, the cloud can do that for them — at a fraction of the price.
With cloud-based healthcare performance management (HPM) software, executives can get a glimpse of the real-time performance of their health plans and instantaneously identify savings opportunities. Cloud-based architecture can draw on data from multiple sources and then integrate and analyze that data so that managers have the best possible information on which to base their decisions.
Consider the popular clothing company Men’s Wearhouse, which uses such HPM software. The retailer saved more than $3 million in healthcare costs in one year by utilizing cloud-based analytics, incentives, and proactive member engagement through a program called Healthpons. Healthpons are similar to offerings by Groupon and Living Social — they’re healthcare coupons that serve as incentives to drive consumerism and reward employees for staying healthy.
Employers across the country are under tremendous pressure to deliver health benefits that yield better outcomes and bend the cost curve down. Complying with the new health law only adds to that stress. Companies that place cloud computing at the center of their technological strategy will see their workers’ health improve — and their healthcare expenditures drop.
