IBC hiring 100 nurses as health coaches

By Harold Brubaker, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
Posted: March 18, 2013

Independence Blue Cross is hiring 100 nurses as health coaches this year to intensify attention on members with certain chronic conditions, Richard Snyder, the health insurer's chief medical officer said.

The health coaches will be the "go to" person at IBC for members in the program, Snyder said in a panel discussion Thursday at a meeting of the Philadelphia Health IT Circle.

"This consistency ensures patient-centered coaching that is individualized and coordinated," Snyder said. The goal is "stronger patient engagement and better health management," he said.

Patient engagement - the health care industry's term for how actively people attend to their health problems and how well they follow the advice of medical professionals - was the topic of discussion at the nonprofit information technology group's meeting at the University of Pennsylvania.

Hiring 100 nurses is part of a broad strategy at IBC to shift from health care that is based on paying for expensive episodes of illness to one that also pays for constant attention to health in a bid to reduce the frequency of costly hospital stays.

IBC is also spearheading the development of an exchange in Southeastern Pennsylvania to share information among insurers and hospitals. "There are gaps. Information is not flowing freely through the system," Snyder said.

Contact Harold Brubaker at 215-854-4651 or hbrubaker@phillynews.com.

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