Eliza Corporation and BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina Drive Awareness and Healthier Behavior to Increase Colorectal Cancer Screenings by 45 Percent

Engaging and interactive outreach for the "Love Your Colon" campaign moves BlueCross HEDIS measures to top 10%

DANVERS, Mass. and COLUMBIA, S.C., Sept. 17, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Eliza Corporation ("Eliza"), the pioneer and recognized leader in health engagement management, and BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina ("BlueCross") announced today that 2012 colorectal cancer screening rates for BlueCross members increased 45 percent over 2011 rates. In fact, benchmarks for the 'Love Your Colon' 2012 program have exceeded expectations in all areas, and as a result the BlueCross Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS) measures for colorectal cancer screening compliance increased from 46.6 percent in 2011 to 67.5 percent in 2012 -- placing BlueCross in the top 10 percent of insurers nationwide.

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(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120917/NE75009LOGO-b)

By engaging members in conversation about colon cancer, a prevalent but preventable disease, Eliza brought a new dimension to the 'Love Your Colon' campaign, a three-year old collaboration among BlueCross, the South Carolina Gastroenterology Association, the University of South Carolina's Center for Colon Cancer Research, CVS Caremark and Genentech.  As part of this campaign, Eliza reached out to members of select large companies in South Carolina who signed cards at worksite events on which they pledged to get screened or to talk to family, friends and coworkers about getting screened.

Eliza's interactive outreach introduced the topic; engaged members in conversation; assessed and addressed any concerns they may have; and encouraged members to schedule a screening.  In addition, Eliza's follow-up analysis and business intelligence helped determine which messages resonated best for key populations – delivering valuable insights for increasing overall awareness and inspiring healthy behavior.  As an added benefit of the outreach, when evaluating awareness of advertising efforts for the 'Love Your Colon' campaign, BlueCross also uncovered insights about the most-viewed advertisements and were able to better assess the return on their advertising investments.

"Eliza is a strategic partner that helps us keep our members healthy, happy and more productive. In South Carolina, only half to two-thirds of the eligible population get preventive screenings for colon cancer. The 'Love Your Colon' campaign is increasing that rate significantly, and Eliza's unique approach to engaging people in conversations about their health has helped us do that by breaking through the noise, giving people a chance to learn more about the recommended tests, and helping us better understand what drives – or discourages – our members from having their recommended colon cancer screenings," said Laura Long, MD, MPH, Vice President of Clinical Innovation and Population Health at BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina.

"The Eliza team has been integrating with BlueCross's multi-channel campaigns to raise awareness of colon cancer prevention in ways  designed to capture mindshare, using approaches that are both cheeky and serious – and always respectful," said Alexandra Drane, Founder and Chief Visionary Officer of Eliza.  "It's an honor to support the BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina team and their members – and we have such respect for the out-of-the-box thinking they bring to really driving better health.  We are thrilled that our tailored content, interactions and business intelligence could play a role in inspiring healthy behaviors, leading to better outcomes - and ultimately and most importantly - better lives for so many."

About HEDIS
HEDIS is a tool used by more than 90 percent of America's health plans to measure performance on important dimensions of care and service.  Altogether, HEDIS consists of 76 measures across 5 domains of care. Because so many plans collect HEDIS data, and because the measures are so specifically defined, HEDIS makes it possible to compare the performance of health plans on an "apples-to-apples" basis. Health plans also use HEDIS results themselves to see where they need to focus their improvement efforts.

About BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina
Headquartered in Columbia, S.C., and operating in South Carolina for 65 years, BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina (www.SouthCarolinaBlues.com) is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. The only South Carolina-owned and operated health insurance carrier, BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina comprises more than 45 companies involved in health insurance services, U.S. DoD health program and Medicare contracts, other insurance and employee benefits services, and a philanthropic foundation that funds programs to improve health care and access to health care for South Carolinians.

About Eliza Corporation
Eliza Corporation ("Eliza") is devoted to making people happier, healthier, and more productive. The pioneer and recognized leader in Health Engagement Management, Eliza draws from more than 700 million interactions with people about their health and blends business intelligence, technology, and communication expertise to improve care experiences, reduce costs and advance population health. Each program is powered by Eliza's engagement-based analytics and population segmentation, and delivered via our patented speech recognition technology, rich web and multi-modal delivery platform (including automated calls, emails, text messages, mail, social and mobile interactions). These programs consistently yield the best outcomes in the industry in terms of increased engagement, health and wellness measures, and sustainable ROI. Eliza was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Danvers, Massachusetts. For more information, please visit www.elizacorp.com.

All product and company names herein may be trademarks of their registered owners.

Media Contacts:

Nancy Scott


Eliza Corporation


978.236.7320


[email protected]




Elizabeth Hammond


BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina


803.264.4626


[email protected]

SOURCE Eliza Corporation