Health coaches score big gains in clinical outcomes and healthcare cost reduction via telephonic, Web-based and personal interactions with clients. Though transparent to the client, healthcare information technologies (IT) drive the coaching process, providing coaches with tools and data to help eliminate barriers and elicit behavior change in the client.

The best health IT platforms, say the experts, offer a system rich in features but are easy to navigate, freeing the coach to focus on coaching and strengthening the coach-client connection.

In this special report, "Health Coaching IT Tools: Dashboard for Driving Coaching Sessions Toward Behavior Change," two innovators in health coaching detail the ideal roster of features and functionality for a health coaching IT platform -- from coaching support tools to tips on integrating with other systems.

You'll hear from John Harris, senior vice president of the health support division of Healthways, and Sean Slovenski, president and CEO, Hummingbird Coaching Services, who share their experiences with:

• Defining the scope, boundaries and protocol of a health coaching program;
• Identifying key functions of an effective coaching platform;
• Tapping into data from prior coaching encounters, health risk assessments, clinical data repositories, health screenings, eligibility information and other sources;
• Incorporating coach support tools for time and memory efficiency and client resource identification;
• Visualizing a Web portal as a complementary coaching tool;
• Transitioning or expanding from one coaching model to another (prescriptive to collaborative coaching or nurse advice line to telephonic coaching;)
• Assessing health coach performance and quality;
• Evaluating current and future coaching needs;

Part of the Health Coach Collection, a seven-volume series - Save 35% when you order the Health Coach Collection Series.

This report is based on a 2007 audio conference on constructing a robust health coaching IT platform.

Table of Contents

• Defining Your Coaching Program
  • Identifying Data Sets
  • Integrating with Other Systems
  • Training For Success
  • Quality is Critical & Selecting Coaches is Key
  • IT Needs
• The Evolution of Health Coaching
  • Qualities of a Good Coaching Platform
  • Functions of an Effective Coaching Platform
  • Platform Features
  • Coach's Convenience is Critical
  • Goal-Setting a Key Feature
  • Resource Search Functions
  • IT Critical to Coaching Success
• Q&A: Ask the Experts
  • The Portal as a Secondary Data Collection Tool
  • Training the Coaches
  • Client Size in Health Coaching
  • Offering Employees Direct Access to Data
  • Current Market Lacking Coaching IT Platforms
  • Assessing Readiness to Change Through IT
  • Measuring Success
  • Moving Clients Through the System Effectively
  • Generational and Geographical Differences in Coaching
  • The Challenges of Hiring & Training
  • Current Trends Indicate Positive Impact on Both Health & Costs
  • Telephonic Care Support
  • E-Coaching vs. Telephonic Coaching
  • Impacts of Predictive Modeling
• For More Information
• About the Authors
• Glossary