Payers sharpen focus on consumer engagement

Payers are increasingly directing their efforts toward the digital consumer in different ways than ever before, according to a 33-page report published by Chilmark, a Mass.-based health IT analyst firm.

Notably, new health insurance exchanges, a rapidly evolving consumer market and the erosion of the traditional health insurance business model are prompting payers to explore digital consumer technologies for population health management and member acquisition and loyalty, according to the report, “Benchmark Report 2013: Payer Adoption of Emerging Consumer Tech – Payers Continue their Pursuit of the Digital Consumer.”

Chilmark researchers studied more than 85 initiatives across the payer spectrum to reach their findings.

"These innovative payers are exploring the wild west of digital consumer engagement and learning as they go. The report describes their experimentation in detail, what initiatives are working and why, and where promising new territory might lie,” wrote Cora Sharma, senior analyst at Chilmark, in a blog post.