Continuing its provider outreach initiative, Aetna sent more than 1,100 letters to clinicians in the United States, who prescribed antibiotics to treat an acute bronchitis diagnosis.   Color shows average fail rate per state. Number (on state) shows count of providers within the state. The data is filtered on three criteria: provider must be a key specialty, provider must have at least five members and the state must have at least five providers.   After analyzing claims data from 2015 and working with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Aetna identified 1,11 ..read more

[View the story “Aetna Foundation’s Garth Graham: Nothing in life is inevitable” on Storify ..read more

Aetna is aiming to reduce inappropriate opioid prescribing to members by 50 percent by 2022. The company is also aiming to increase evidence-based multi-modal approaches when treating members with chronic pain and using medication assisted therapy (MAT) for member with opioid use disorder by 50 percent by 2022. “These goals are Aetna’s North Star – they are benchmarks against which all of our opioid efforts will be measured and the standard to which we hold ourselves accountable,” said Harold L. Paz, M.D., M.S., executive vice president and chief medical officer for Aetna. Aetna’s goals are a ..read more

With the global incidence of diabetes doubling from 1989 to 2014, the disease has heavily impacted the health care system, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Click to read Aetna International’s white paper. Aetna International believes battling the disease through a comprehensive care management program can help members better manage their condition and increase medication adherence to live healthier lives. In a June 2017 white paper called, “Diabetes: the world’s weightiest problem,” Aetna International calls for the revolutionizing of how health care is managed and delivere ..read more

U.S. News & World Report, the global authority in health care rankings, and the Aetna Foundation, the independent charitable and philanthropic arm of Aetna, today announced they are teaming up to evaluate which communities across America are doing the best job of improving the health of their citizens. The new U.S. News/Aetna Foundation Healthiest Communities project, coming in 2018, will feature in-depth reporting, analysis and research highlighting communities that are producing better health results through innovative partnerships, programs and policies. “For more than 25 years, U.S. N ..read more

Aetna opened its first Mindfulness Center in its Hartford, Connecticut, headquarters this week. The center will help Aetna associates learn and engage with mindfulness and aim to change workplace culture. “This is igniting the transformation. We’re going to be offering programs and trying to gradually change the workplace culture,” said Andy Lee, the chief mindfulness officer at Aetna. “Stress affects all companies. Mindfulness is an effective way to provide people with the tools to help manage their stress.” From left to right: Cheryl Jones, director of mindfulness at Aetna; Andy Lee, chief ..read more

About 450 million people in the world suffer from a mental health condition. Mental health disorders are among the leading cause of ill health and disability worldwide. Despite this, mental health conditions remain poorly understood. With one in five people in the world estimated to be affected by a mental health condition at some point in their lives, it’s important to know how to identify emotional suffering and what can be done to be healthy. In March 2015, the Campaign to Change Direction—a national initiative to change the culture of mental health in America—started. Aetna is a founding ..read more

A pilot between Aetna and the United Parcel Service (UPS) found that employees on short-term disability who completed an online pain assessment and participated in pain management programs for several weeks had a 50 percent higher return-to-work rate and 22 percent shorter duration of disability. The pilot, which took place in 2016, allowed Aetna to analyze UPS’ disability claims. Six musculo-skeletal diagnoses were flagged. If a claim was submitted with one of the diagnoses, a nurse would provide members with more information on their disability and alternative ways to manage pain. Dr. Mike ..read more

Aetna will expand televideo to self-insured plans in every state in the United States, increasing access to behavioral health services and resources. “Access to quality behavioral health services is critical to our members’ wellbeing, as well as their overall physical health,” said Hyong Un, M.D., chief psychiatric officer for Aetna. “Having televideo-based mental health services is just another example of our continued effort to improve access and provide choices to our members in how they access behavioral health services.” Televideo counseling services are currently offered through Aetna R ..read more

Since August 2016, Aetna has seen a 7 percent reduction in the rate of monthly opioid prescriptions among its commercial pharmacy membership. There has also been a 5 percent reduction in the rate of monthly opioid prescriptions among its Medicare Advantage pharmacy membership. The decrease in prescriptions are a result of several company-wide efforts to fight the opioid epidemic in the United States. One of those efforts is an initiative Aetna launched in 2016, when letters were sent to nearly 1,000 doctors, who were identified as being “super-prescribers” of opioids. They worked in various s ..read more