Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/35c519/the_next_generatio) has announced the addition of the "The Next Generation of Health Coaching: Multi-Platform Models for Sustained Behavior Change" report to their offering.
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.