INTRODUCING A NEW, DYNAMIC
COST CONTAINMENT FEATURE

In a unique fusion of improving employee health and employer cost containment, Hewitt•Coleman is now offering a software system that spots serious conditions before they rise to catastrophic illnesses to employees and cost drains to employers.

Innovative Health Strategies' system, called AWAC®, is a physician-monitored computer system that identifies risks and their level of severity, detects possible outcomes, and recommends actions for early treatment - providing life-saving benefits to the employee and a major cost-saver for the employer.

AWAC® automatically "red flags" high risk patients:  severe hypertension is monitored for coronary artery disease or stroke risk; high blood sugar is monitored for diabetes risk.  AWAC® (Advanced Warning and Containment) also spots inaccurately billed claims, a major healthcare cost driver.  Hewitt•Coleman is the sole AWAC® member in South Carolina, and one of 15 nationwide offering the system.  It can save an employer up to 33 percent in health costs; TPA's using AWAC® have saved $25 million in plans they administer.

AWAC® works by entering claims into the system, which nightly screens claims and prescription drug data, comparing it to thousands of medial and financial algorithms to identify at-risk claimants before conditions become life-threatening.  It can identify high-risk cases from claims as small as $30.  AWAC® is a "straight line" to physicians with first-hand knowledge of such conditions who review the claims, supported by more than 100 physician specialists, as well as registered nurses and pharmacotherapists.

Once AWAC® identifies a case, AWAC® physicians and other team members work with the patient, attending physician, and employer to ensure the best possible care at optimum savings.  "It takes a skilled physician, with hands-on experience in the specialty in question, to communicate with attending physicians, manage expensive cases, review billing in a clinical context and negotiate claims," said Dr. John Richards Jr., IHS president.  AWAC® also incorporates a nationwide provider network offering real discounts.  Unlike PPO's, where prices may be inflated then discounted back to normal, contract prices are negotiated on a trust-cost basis from the start.

As a result, Hewitt•Coleman's self-insured employer clients can see significant cost savings for costly pharmaceuticals, and treatments of cancer, kidney disease (including dialysis), liver disease, diabetes, organ transplants and neonatology.

Contact Jim Stoecker at jstoecker@hewittcoleman.com for more information.