One of the things I love most about my job is the face to face (or videoconference camera to videoconference camera) time I get with population health professionals, learning about their challenges and discussing opportunities for a quality health risk assessment (HRA) within their programs.
After countless conversations with the true boots-on-the-ground population health pros, you start to notice some patterns to our conversations. So what are the top concerns I encounter in these conversations, across regions, from corporate wellness plans to health system, no matter how large or how small the organization?
Topping the list these days is budget. How much does a health risk assessment cost?
The short answer is that cost will vary. There are stripped-down free HRA solutions out there, and there are feature-rich built out HRA solutions that cost large health systems or wellness plans hundreds of thousands per year. The difference in pricing will come down to the size of your population, and the features you need from your HRA. (The sales guy in me feels inclined to point out that in a recent case study, Wellsource client Welltok helped one of their groups realize $85,000 direct return on investment from their HRA). Some select features will contribute to what you can expect to spend on an HRA—costs associated with regulatory compliance, integration needs, how evidence-based and scientifically valid the question set is, and how you’re planning to use the data. Each of these factors will contribute to your HRA program results, and ultimately health improvements you are hoping to see as a result from your population health programs.
The real question when budgeting for a health risk assessment is this: how do you know you’re getting a quality product for the cost?
In this post, we’ll take a look at some of high-level cost considerations you may encounter when selecting an HRA.
This is where third-party certification can help you evaluate the quality of your HRA vendor. Getting an HRA certified by a national accreditation body such as NCQA is no easy feat – it take years of development and a significant investment to meet the list of requirements in order to become a certified solution with NCQA. It’s also an ongoing commitment – recertification is required every two years. This process is rigorous and ensures your HRA solution is of high quality. This also means quality outcomes for your organization—and can help your organization achieve health plan accreditation.
A quality HRA will be grounded in solid science, be evidence-based, and produce scientifically valid results based on the most current research from the best health and medical organizations available. The Wellsource Health and Research team, for example, continually reviews new scientific research and turns those outcomes into evidence-based algorithms and educational content. Some of their sources for research include:
This work is a critical component in getting quality data. And quality data informs population health initiatives and provides end users with the educational content they need to make lasting changes in their health habits.
Asking readiness to change questions is one thing that sets Wellsource HRAs apart. Our readiness to change questions are based on Prochaska's Transtheoretical Model, which evolved through studies examining the experiences of smokers who quit on their own and what circumstances helped them do so. Their findings? Simply put, when people are ready to change habitual behaviors, they will go through a cyclical process of intentionally changing said behaviors.
Including these questions in an HRA helps to target at-risk individuals and populations in areas not only where they need to make a change, but where they are READY to make a change. This can dramatically increase the efficacy of implementing a health and wellness plan that produces measurable results, reduces the cost of claims to payors, and creates a more engaged, healthy, and productive population.
It’s also a good idea to protect your HRA data with additional security considerations such as Single Sign-On (SSO) and ensure any API data integration is encrypted and includes multiple redundant layers.
When purchasing a software solution you are also entering into a close partnership with a company. At Wellsource we have seen the benefit of this kind of strong customer relationship, resulting in a true partnership where our customers help inform future development, provide ongoing feedback, and generally work in a cohesive way that benefits both organizations. So be sure to carefully consider your program needs and the level of support – or partnership – you may require from your HRA vendor.
When budgeting for your HRA, clearly there are a lot of considerations to be made beyond one-time implementation costs or recurring annual licensing fees.
Interested in learning more about HRA pricing? I wouldn’t be a true Director of Sales if I didn’t use this opportunity to encourage you to set up a free consultation with our Wellsource team. While you weigh your options, here are some additional questions you may want to consider:
I also encourage you to consider your program needs and how they align with the capabilities of your HRA. Here’s a great place to start: use this free checklist resource to evaluate your HRA vendors across issues of security, integration, and user experience.