NASHVILLE, Tennessee—Highmark is building on its relationship with Sword Health by adding a new virtual, pelvic health benefit for its members.
Through the program, patients are paired with a pelvic health specialist and provided with an insertable device listed by the Food and Drug Administration that can measure the force, endurance and accuracy of the pelvic floor muscles. The offering is embedded in the My Highmark app so members can easily access it, Highmark said.
The insurer noted that about 1 in 3 women experience bladder issues, chronic pelvic pain, pelvic floor disorders or other symptoms associated with intimacy well-being, pregnancy, postpartum and menopause.
Using the device and the app, the program offers real-time feedback as patients conduct exercises designed for them by their paired specialist.
Karen Hanlon, chief operating officer of Highmark Health, told Fierce Healthcare that making these services available in a virtual setting may make more members comfortable trying them.
"It's a really common thing, but it's also a topic that women can have difficulty talking about and engaging, even with a clinician, and so, a virtual solution fits really nicely in that space, because it's a little less intimidating for people," she said.
Highmark had an existing partnership with Sword for its musculoskeletal platform, which offers virtual physical therapy. That program has seen significant success, as 36,000 members have connected to it, and 69% of those with significant pain said they found relief.
Hanlon said Highmark also found that through Sword, the team was able to reduce emergency department visits, admissions and imaging. That lower utilization drove $112 in per member per month cost savings, according to Highmark.
Customer satisfaction with the musculoskeletal program has also been high, Hanlon said. With those positive results documented, building out the partnership with Sword made sense.
"So the outcomes have been really good and, as a result, we've seen our self-insured employer population continuing to increase the penetration of this program," Hanlon said.
The pelvic floor program is under the umbrella of the insurer's broader Living Health strategy, which aims to build a healthcare ecosystem that works better for the people it's meant to serve. Part of that approach is making the My Highmark app feel like a one-stop-shop for members to access all of their benefits, educational materials and more.
That integration has helped the pelvic floor program reach about 7,000 people since its July rollout, Hanlon said.
"We feel pretty good about the uptake so far," she said.