[{"innerBlocks":[],"name":"core\/freeform","postId":4232,"blockType":{"name":"core\/freeform","keywords":[],"attributes":{"content":{"type":"string","source":"raw"},"lock":{"type":"object"}},"providesContext":[],"usesContext":[],"selectors":[],"supports":{"className":false,"customClassName":false,"reusable":false},"styles":[],"variations":[],"apiVersion":3,"title":"Classic","description":"Use the classic WordPress editor.","category":"text"},"originalContent":"HealthPartners, an integrated provider and insurance healthcare organization serving Minnesota and Wisconsin, is creating a measure of patient well-being to encourage physician conversations with patients about their overall life satisfaction.

Measuring patients\u2019 perceptions of the quality of their lives is an important barometer of future health, says Tom Kottke, MD, a cardiologist and senior clinical investigator at Health Partners. Even people whose health is good and are doing well financially can be unhappy or dissatisfied with aspects of their lives, and that can have medical consequences over time. \u201cWhat we know is that being healthy and wealthy doesn\u2019t necessarily contribute to well-being,\u201d Kottke adds.

For two decades, HealthPartners has been analyzing clinical and claims data to improve how the organization conducts preventive care, manages chronic disease, and promotes healthy behaviors to improve medical outcomes.

Now, the organization is adding data to improve emotional and functional outcomes. Based on a survey of 5,000 HealthPartners insurance members, contributing factors that can improve a sense of wellness include good nutrition, not smoking, healthy thinking, modest alcohol use, preventive services, physical activity and adequate sleep.

\u201cThese are associated with staying healthy; they are the sustainability of health,\u201d Kottke says.

Adding these factors into HealthPartners providers\u2019 electronic health records systems makes them accessible during a physician visit and fosters a conversation that helps physicians to better understand their patients\u2019 daily lives, and offer opportunities to discuss how patients can change certain behaviors.

\u201cWell-being is life satisfaction,\u201d Kottke adds. \u201cIf people are dissatisfied, we can work on the reasons.\u201d

All of the data that has been analyzed over 20 years and all the new data from the survey, which will be conducted annually, can identify certain factors in patients\u2019 lives that can lower well-being, and HealthPartners has multiple outreach programs to help those in need.

For instance, the organization offers an online cognitive behavior therapy program to treat depression, anxiety and stress, which Kottke calls a \u201cbeating the blues program,\u201d and one-on-one online counseling services. HealthPartners also can identify members anxious about the conditions of their neighborhoods, and assist members in finding ways to discuss ways to make improvements with community leaders.

HealthPartners also worked with other major companies in the region to adopt a program to automatically enroll employees in a 401K program, unless they opt out, to encourage savings.
","saveContent":"HealthPartners, an integrated provider and insurance healthcare organization serving Minnesota and Wisconsin, is creating a measure of patient well-being to encourage physician conversations with patients about their overall life satisfaction.

Measuring patients\u2019 perceptions of the quality of their lives is an important barometer of future health, says Tom Kottke, MD, a cardiologist and senior clinical investigator at Health Partners. Even people whose health is good and are doing well financially can be unhappy or dissatisfied with aspects of their lives, and that can have medical consequences over time. \u201cWhat we know is that being healthy and wealthy doesn\u2019t necessarily contribute to well-being,\u201d Kottke adds.

For two decades, HealthPartners has been analyzing clinical and claims data to improve how the organization conducts preventive care, manages chronic disease, and promotes healthy behaviors to improve medical outcomes.

Now, the organization is adding data to improve emotional and functional outcomes. Based on a survey of 5,000 HealthPartners insurance members, contributing factors that can improve a sense of wellness include good nutrition, not smoking, healthy thinking, modest alcohol use, preventive services, physical activity and adequate sleep.

Analyzing records to assess patient well-being

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