UnitedHealthcare, Fitbit, and Castlight share secrets to workplace wellness success
Employee wellness is not a new idea, but new ideas from digital health companies like Castlight Health and Fitbit, as well as incumbents like UnitedHealthcare, are reimagining and reinvigorating the space.
At a panel at the Personal Connected Health Alliance’s Innovation Leaders Summit at HIMSS18 (moderated by yours truly), Castlight Health President Derek Newell, Fitbit Health Solutions Chief Operating Officer Amy McDonough, and UnitedHealthcare Vice President of Emerging Products Paul Sterling discussed the evolving space and how wearable technology is leading to record engagement and motivation for employee populations.
“Connected devices are interesting to people,” Sterling said. “They’re interesting gadgets. Our objective is to leverage that interest, that momentum, that enthusiasm people have for these capabilities and transition it to a meaningful health tool. [UnitedHealthcare] Motion is a baby step along a long path. We’ve paired this technology along with a rigorous but achievable concept and are incentivizing people to participate.”
UnitedHealthcare’s Motion program, a collaboration with Qualcomm, pays users $4 a day to meet health and wellness goals, as measured by trackers like Fitbits, Samsung devices, and, soon, as he announced at the show, Apple Watches. They can put that money toward other healthcare expenses.