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There's good news for health coaching: two out of three consumers are willing to participate in health and wellness programs to improve their health — a trend that translates into reduced healthcare costs for payors and employers. But to connect with consumers where they're at — both in their lives and in the healthcare continuum — health coaches of the very near future will need to deliver whole-person behavior change strategies in a multi-platform world.

That's the changing face of health coaching, explain Jennifer Hidding, former director of interactive health management of consumer solutions at OptumHealth and Roger Reed, chief consumer engagement architect with Gordian Health Solutions Inc. in The Next Generation of Health Coaching: Multi-Platform Models for Sustained Behavior Change.

In this 43-page special report, these health coaching veterans set the stage for Health Coaching 3.0 and describe the skills, technology and training that will be required to equip health coaches for this eventuality. To optimize program success and ROI, health coaching will need to be powered by multi-channel outreach — land lines, Web, email, cell phones and even PDAs — and reinforced by tightly interwoven communication and incentive programs.

"Today a person may want to send the coach an e-mail. Tomorrow that person may want to pick up the phone and call that coach. The next day that person may want to use self-service options available to them through a portal or a platform that’s out there," notes Reed.

And as Hidding observes, the Internet has edged out the physician as the premier source of healthcare information — a trend likely to continue as consumers delay doctor visits to cover other bills.

As health coaching moves away from working in condition-specific silos toward a more holistic approach — The Next Generation of Health Coaching: Multi-Platform Models for Sustained Behavior Change suggests program development strategies, behavior change theory and technologies to support this transition. This report also guides organizations in search of long-term sustainable approaches to health management that address the entire population.

In addition, Hidding and Reed provide details on:

• Developing a wellness culture to drive health improvement initiatives;
• Integrating rewards and incentives to drive participation and engagement in health coaching and the dramatic recent shift in preferred incentives;
• Overcoming barriers to program entry;
• Building the philosophical and technological platforms to support Health Coaching 3.0;
• Evaluating promising new health coaching theories and success measurements;
• Training health coaches on the new approaches and modalities essential to Health Coaching 3.0;
• Measuring the effect of consumer engagement and health choices on the future of health coaching;
• Planning today for the coaching call centers of the future;

Table of Contents

• Health and Wellness Coaching in 2009
  • Industry Trends and Developments
  • Theories of Behavior Change
  • The Employers’ Buzz on the Health and Wellness Marketplace
  • Developing a Culture of Wellness
  • Incentive Trends and Developments
  • 2009 Coaching Program
  • Data Capture Via Alerts
  • Marketplace Best Practices: Do’s and Don’t’s
• The Future of Health Coaching
  • The Evolution of Health Coaching
  • Principles of Health Coaching 3.0
  • The Cornerstones of Health Coaching 3.0
  • Training the Coach
  • Measuring Outcomes
  • What’s Next in Health Coaching?
• Q&A: Ask the Experts
  • Requirements for Health Coaching Programs
  • Health Coach Qualities
  • Enrollment Methods
  • Incorporating Health Claims
  • Coaching Balance
  • Measuring Outcomes
  • Performance Metrics
  • Coaching Contact
  • Getting Started
  • Coaching Versus Guiding
  • Coaching in an Unhealthy Economy
• For More Information
• About the Authors
• Glossary