Accolade’s clinical strategy is built to provide customers with healthcare savings, in part by cutting healthcare waste and getting members to the right care. And according to a recent study from the independent consulting group Aon, that’s exactly what it’s doing.  Aon’s analysts examined the impact that Accolade’s service had on healthcare spending trends for self-insured employers, confirming, among other findings, that Accolade cut the cost of caring for members with chronic conditions by 12%. Accolade’s healthcare ecosystem and frontline care teams ensure that every member receives care that is appropriate to their unique needs while at the same time cutting costs at all levels. Click below to read the full report.                                                                     

In a recent webinar, members of Accolade’s clinical team explained how Accolade is able to achieve these kinds of savings. If you didn’t get a chance to check out the webinar live, we’ve collected some of the key takeaways on the topic below.

Accolade as point of contact

Accolade has many ways to ensure that members interact and engage with Accolade’s care team of nurses and health assistants.  Accolade becomes the point of contact phone number for members on their healthcare cards. The Accolade team also reaches out proactively to members with multiple communication campaigns, ensuring that the people we can assist understand how to interact with us. And we partner closely with partners’ benefits team to make sure awareness of Accolade and the services it provides stays high.

Once we do touch base with a given member, our team helps them understand the value that Accolade can bring into their healthcare experience by using multiple avenues and surrounding members with Accolade as much as possible.

Mental healthcare is integrated into every conversation

Accolade’s clinical strategy deeply integrates a holistic approach that seeks to identify any mental health needs of our members. Our frontline team makes sure to watch out for signs of stress, anxiety, and depression when interacting with members, especially if there is a history of those symptoms. We really focus on creating a meaningful relationship with each member, seeking to understand what else might be going on in their life during every interaction. These relationships often allow our health assistants to uncover issues even when they weren’t the original purpose for the call, and direct members to resources that can help.

Accolade’s COVID Response

Accolade ensures that all our frontline care teams are able to provide the latest and most accurate information regarding COVID-19 vaccines – a question that is top of mind for many members. We have a designated team for COVID and are equipped with designated documents and resources that help us find and assist members in understanding when the vaccine will be available for them, and accessing if they are eligible. Our frontline care teams stay abreast of the latest updates from trusted sources like the CDC to ensure they’re always providing members with latest and most accurate information.

Inclusive care across all levels

Accolade has several tools to engage with and address minority populations who are frequently underserved by the healthcare system and often face disparities when it comes to accessing care. Empathy is one of our corner stones and our frontline care teams are specially trained to uncover barriers to access faced by all of our members – and to help them overcome those barriers. We find them resources, support groups, rides to appointments and work to identify providers of a certain ethnicity or fluent in a certain language if that helps our members get more comfortable seeking out the care they need.

Accolade also employs specialized services, such as a language line that we can go to in order to help interpret members and ensure that our care team understands exactly what they need and how best to provide them with it, and a transgender team that works with members who may be gender dysmorphic or non-conforming.  Whatever our members need, we work hard to ensure we’re meeting them where they are, coming to an understanding of their needs, and helping them identify the best path forward on their healthcare journey.

Accolade performed the Aon study as part of it continuously striving to provide better outcomes for members across all levels, while lowering costs. Read the complete Aon study to learn more about how Accolade can create a lasting impact and help every member live their healthiest life.