How Digital Health Navigation Drives Real Results
A healthier workforce means lower healthcare costs, greater productivity and improved employee satisfaction. But, for employers, providing access to care is just the first step. The real challenge—and opportunity—lies in ensuring employees actively engage with and utilize their benefits.
As the number of digital health solutions continue to grow, employees are often overwhelmed trying to figure out what's available to them and confused about how to access them all. So, what's the best way to increase benefits utilization, engage your workforce and deliver the real impact you're seeking?
By bringing together all benefits into one easy-to-navigate, centralized platform, employees see all of their benefits at-a-glance and are empowered to become more engaged in their well-being.
The Starting Point: A Digital-First Navigation Strategy
The average employee today juggles multiple benefit vendors and platforms, from physical health and mental health to condition-specific care. Without a central hub, engagement often falters.
A digital-first navigation strategy brings all benefits together in one place—creating a cohesive, personalized experience that guides employees to the right care at the right time—whether that means preventive screenings, chronic condition management, mental health support or other offerings. By removing friction and confusion, these platforms improve utilization rates and empower employees to make better-informed healthcare decisions.
For many companies, taking a digital-first navigation approach has improved employee engagement while driving meaningful outcomes. Here's how some companies' digital navigation platforms have improved utilization while also fostering a healthier, more resilient workforce.
Decreasing Pain, Preventing Surgeries and Growing Engagement by 3.25x
A leading paper and packaging company faced a unique obstacle. Many of its employees work physically demanding roles. Because they were standing for most of their eight- to 10-hour shifts, many employees suffered from chronic pain.
The company added a new benefit, Hinge Health, which revolutionizes pain management by connecting people digitally with expert clinical care. Through advanced artificial intelligence (AI), expert guidance and personalized careplans, Hinge Health can deliver meaningful results. Users have reported a
To encourage employees to take control of their pain, the company's benefits team decided to engage and promote Hinge Health offerings through its digital navigation platform – the Castlight app. In just three months, the company saw significant results, with an average:
- 70% decrease in pain-related employee absenteeism and presenteeism
- 73% decrease in reported employee anxiety
- 80% decrease in reported employee depression
This company's experience isn't unique. Hinge Health and Castlight have collaborated for numerous employers. Castlight's user data shows that engagement has skyrocketed by 3.25x when employees were guided to the program through personalization from Castlight.
Controlling Diabetes and Hypertension
A global food and beverage company faced rising costs associated with diabetes and hypertension across its employee base. The organization implemented a digital chronic condition management program, but the initial uptake was slow and the company struggled to get employees to take advantage of this valuable benefit.
In 2023, the company opted to integrate the program into the Castlight app, using all of Castlight's communications tools – including a registration toolkit, videos and print material, unified messaging and notifications – to make it easier for employees to enroll and benefit from the program's offerings.
The results were quick and impressive:
- 900 new applicants joined the diabetes and hypertension program
- 53% of employees registered with the program in the first four months
- 89% of registered employees completed an activity within two months
The food and beverage company's experience is proof positive that digital navigation platform integration can spur faster adoption and greater program success. Across all employers using the program's integration Castlight there have been significant improvements in member health:
- 66% with hypertension met their blood pressure reduction goal
- 86% with diabetes met their A1C reduction goal
As these companies illustrate, simply offering health benefits is no longer enough. To maximize impact and ROI of benefits, companies must prioritize smarter navigation that helps employees access care easily and engage in more meaningful ways.
By adopting a comprehensive platform that delivers seamless, personalized, outcomes-oriented experiences, employers can more effectively engage employees in all their health and wellness benefits, and support them in leading healthier lives. Now, and in the future, it's not about the number of benefits being offered, but rather about providing them in a way that is easy to understand and quick to adopt. By doing so, companies increase engagement, see tangible results and ensure the successful adoption of their programs.
Want to learn how Castlight can help your organization drive meaningful health engagement?
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