The Practitioner Conection
Volume XXXI, 3rd Quarter

PREVENTIVE HEALTH PROGRAM CHANGES

CIGNA offers several behavioral programs that promote health and can be used by our customers as needed. These programs are based on scientific evidence and may help to detect, prevent, or control the worsening of an illness.

Through such means as customer surveys or professional focus groups, feedback on proposed and existing preventive health programs is solicited and can help us to make our programs more useful. Recent changes were made to our Preventive Health Program on Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, based on survey feedback from customers and a review by a nationwide focus group of network professionals that included facility representation. A new Preventive Health Program on early intervention for Depression in Adults also received review from the same nationwide focus group. A third program provides Depression screening in persons experiencing a variety of chronic medical conditions. In 2009, a regional depression preventive health program for adults will be discontinued and will be replaced with the new early intervention Depression program, which is of national scope.

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
Program Description: The goal of this program is to empower parents. When CIGNA receives a first calendar year ADHD claim for a child 12 years of age and under, a cover letter and a package of educational materials is mailed to the parent or guardian. They are invited to take advantage of these and of additional materials on our Web site. In about a month, they are surveyed for program feedback.
Changes for 2009: Based upon survey feedback from people using our Preventive Health program and suggestions from the national focus group of professionals, CIGNA has streamlined and focused the initial mailing. Also, program materials on our website now help families to better understand ADHD and its medication and psycho-social treatments, manage and talk with their child, better communicate with treatment professionals, and coordinate consistency across settings where their child is involved. Additional materials intended for Primary Care Physician and behavioral care professional use, such as treatment guidelines and tools that support treatment, are also available in the network professional section of CIGNA's behavioral health Web site.

Early Response to Depression Risk in Adults
Program Description: Timely treatment can lessen the severity of illness. CIGNA regularly reviews pharmacy claims to identify new medical and behavioral antidepressant prescriptions for persons 18 years and older. Based on a propriety statistically proven predictive modeling algorithm, we identify people who are not yet diagnosed, but who are at high risk for developing depression. Over approximately the next month, three separate educational flyers are mailed to help these individuals understand the importance that medication and treatment play in reducing their risks for depression. The last flyer invites individuals to take advantage of an Online Depression management program with additional educational materials and tools that help monitor and manage depression symptoms and risk. In this way, we help people reduce their risks for more severe symptoms and complications of depression. Additionally, medication compliance alerts are mailed to medication prescribers notifying them when the medication refill rate for a person with first time depression is less than 80%.
Changes in 2009: This is a new early intervention program that uses mailings, an online depression management program, and outreach prompts to prescribers to reduce the risks associated with severe depression.

Depression and Chronic Medical Disease
Program Description: CIGNA knows that medical and behavioral conditions may exist together. We routinely screen for depression when individuals enroll in disease management programs for diabetes, heart problems, low back pain, asthma, and for those enrolled in comprehensive weight loss programs and other identified medical conditions. Where permission is given in the presence of a positive screening, the Primary Care Physician is provided with information to further assess whether depression treatment is needed. Services are coordinated between professionals involved in the care.
Changes for 2009: This program continues in much the same manner, with minor modifications in implementation.

CIGNA hopes you will become aware of these Preventive Health Program resources for the people you serve and we encourage your feedback that assists us in building better, more effective programs.

Other Featured Articles:

SERVICE LOCATION VS BILLING LOCATION IN CLAIM FORMS

HOME OFFICE ATTESTATION

ASSESSING FOR OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE DISORDER

INPATIENT CARE AND SAFETY

CHALLENGES OF MANAGEMENT REFERRALS

AUTISM SEMINAR OPPORTUNITY

Practitioner Connection Home | CIGNA Home | Legal Disclaimer

©2009 CIGNA