Three Ways the Whole Health Index Will Change Healthcare

The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in August 2024 released updated estimates for life expectancy at birth. If you were born in the U.S. in 2021, you can expect to live – on average -- until just past your 76^th birthday. For decades, measures like life expectancy have benchmarked the nation’s progress toward more people living a longer life. But they don’t really measure your health. 

Health grows from social connections, nutritious food to eat, and a place to call home. It’s also influenced by traditional medical considerations like your age, the ZIP code where you live, and preventive care such as flu vaccinations. When we consider all these factors, we get closer to measuring whole health.

In pursuit of Elevance Health’s purpose to improve the health of humanity, we built the Whole Health Index (WHI), which has the potential to change healthcare for the better. The WHI provides a scientifically valid way to measure the most significant  drivers of health (including the social drivers), provides the ability to evaluate whether the actions taken to improve health are working, and represents a way for communities and the healthcare system to work more closely together to advance health equity.
 

Scientifically Valid

If 80% of health stems from factors outside the healthcare setting, that means the majority of what creates health is not usually measured within the healthcare system. Until now, the healthcare industry has been limited to measurements for physical health and in recent years, behavioral health. What has been missing is a measure of the social factors that largely contribute to our health and the health of our communities.

No other index combines a comprehensive list of area-level and individual-level social and clinical risk factors, representing key drivers of health. With an assessment of physical, behavioral, and social factors for every individual, the WHI can compare population health across different states, as opposed to just ranking counties within a given state. It also allows analysis of health disparities by population.

Our commitment to whole health includes identifying ways to measure it, and the WHI makes that possible. Through the WHI, we can better understand individual and community health concerns so that we can create programs and services to address those needs and advance greater health equity.
 

Measuring Success

By evaluating health over time, together we can better identify what’s working, what’s not, and more quickly and accurately offer the right interventions to optimally support individual and community health in the short- and long-term.

Elevance Health began a flu vaccination campaign in 2022 focused on a group of members from all affiliated health plans who, as indicated by the WHI, are at highest risk of complications should they catch the flu. This group received vaccination reminders via direct mail, emails, and text messages. We also worked with community partners to ensure access to vaccines through transportation assistance and local events. A seasonal analysis is conducted every year following the campaign. In addition to improving health outcomes overall, the campaign continues to show a boost in vaccine rates from 3-18%* as well as a reduction in emergency department visits among those in the group.

Better health outcomes motivate a health plan to pursue programs that address health-related social needs, and cost savings are an added incentive. In a study we conducted to reinforce our quality improvement efforts, we found there is plenty of non-monetary value derived from addressing social drivers of health. This includes improved patient experience, better health outcomes, enhanced quality of life, and reduced health disparities.