Individuals with special healthcare needs, such as those with disabilities and those in the foster care system, encounter barriers in accessing the care required for their overall well-being. Holistic and systematic disparities contribute to an increase in episodic and emergency care, leading to poorer health, a lower quality of life, and reduced independence.
Male teacher explains a lesson about the food pyramid to two students, both of whom have Down Syndrome
Aetna Better Health of Kentucky, Avēsis, and technology provider MapHabit have initiated a pilot program aimed at improving the health of the most vulnerable residents of Kentucky. Through the deployment of readily available technologies, this partnership empowers members while bridging communication gaps between members, caregivers, and care teams.
In collaboration with MapHabit, we provide valuable habit-building tools to address the gaps in care coordination within the current system. Our goal is to enable members to establish lasting hygiene habits, encourage regular visits to their providers, enhance comfort, alleviate anxiety during dental and medical visits, and ultimately improve overall independence and quality of life. This system supports members in developing essential social and fine motor skills, demonstrating self-care practices, and empowering them to communicate effectively with healthcare professionals.
“Our mission is person-centric; we guide individuals, organizations, and communities to wellness by providing innovative, multidimensional, tailored offerings with a personal touch,” said Don Trainor, care transformation senior manager at Avēsis. “We are excited to broaden our partnership with Aetna Better Health of Kentucky and MapHabit to create communities and systems of care where everyone can have access to quality healthcare and services while being treated with dignity.”
Aetna Better Health of Kentucky and Avēsis take a holistic approach to address whole-person health throughout the continuum of care, coordinating complexities within a care team, considering behavioral traits, and accommodating physical limitations. The pilot program includes:
- Training providers to address the unique needs of each member
- Empowering ongoing communication between members and their care teams
- Facilitating the completion of functional behavioral assessments and care plans
- Enhancing health by increasing access to care delivery and enabling self-care
- Improving the quality of life by fostering increased independence and reducing caregiver burden
- Identifying value-based structures to facilitate meaningful encounters between providers and members
“The MapHabit System is a neuroscience-based, member-engagement platform that helps people with intellectual disabilities live out their daily lives by providing powerful visual cues that help them complete tasks we take for granted,” said Matt Golden, chief executive officer at MapHabit. “We are excited to collaborate with members and their circle of support, to personalize visual maps that incorporate dental hygiene habits, along with improving dental visit experience using graduated exposure.”
In addition to improving oral health outcomes, the pilot will improve utilization within the Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) network and Avēsis care managers using secure messaging and access to personalized wellness plans within the MapHabit System.
“We are deeply committed to the whole health of our members, and we continually seek innovative programming that can better support all the populations we serve, including members with special health care needs who may be at higher risk for medical and dental complications,” said Paige Mankovich, CEO of Aetna Better Health of Kentucky. “Through this collaboration, we are leveraging emerging technologies through the MapHabit system’s intuitive tools to elevate access to care and support the needs of our most vulnerable members.”
To improve the relationship between the payor, therapists/treatment providers, and the member, the partnership is driving greater utilization and consistency across other provider services. Areas of interest and support include activities of daily living (ADL), instrumental ADLs (iADL), and access to the community (including employment and social interaction the individual member is working on, achieving in, and needs additional support to achieve).
Measuring Success for a Better Tomorrow
To ensure findings from this pilot program further special health care needs access programs, Avēsis and Aetna Better Health of Kentucky are committed to sharing the results from this pilot.
The teams are excited about the program’s ability to provide enhanced access and services to a vulnerable population and the opportunity to scale this partnership and shared experience in Kentucky and beyond.
About Avēsis
Avēsis believes in creating communities where lives are lived more fully. One of the nation’s leading dental, vision, and specialty benefits providers for more than 40 years, we deliver the highest quality of care by building and nurturing local provider networks and community partnerships.
Our member-centered care model aims to bridge and close significant gaps in health equity while guiding members and their communities to wellness. Learn more about how we are redefining specialty benefit solutions that serve the needs of governments, companies, and individuals at avesis.com.
