Aetna, Avēsis, and MapHabit team up to improve healthcare in Kentucky

The three companies are collaborating on a pilot to create habit-building tools

When it comes to public health, Kentucky ranks as number 48 out of the 50 states, including being number 45 in healthcare quality and number 37 in healthcare access. For the most vulnerable members of the population, meaning those with special healthcare needs, such as those with disabilities and in the foster care system, face even higher barriers in accessing the care they need.

That's why three companies announced on Tuesday that they've come together to launch a pilot to improve the health of the most vulnerable residents of Kentucky: Aetna Better Health of Kentucky; Avēsis, an administrator of vision, dental, and hearing health insurance benefits for government and commercial plans; and MapHabit, an app for scheduling daily tasks for disabled or mentally unhealthy patients. 

The Phoenix-based Avēsis has been providing essential ancillary benefit solutions since 1978, while the Atlanta-based MapHabit, which was founded in 2018, provides a system that organizes habits, routines and tasks into interactive visual maps and step-by-step how to guides that help members complete daily activities, either on their own or with help from a support partner or a caregiver.

Together, the three companies will be combining their forces to create habit-building tools that they say will "bridge the gaps in care coordination that exist within the current system."

Its first goal will focus on building durable hygiene habits, encouraging patients to visit their providers, increase comfort and ease anxiety at dental and medical visits, and improve overall independence and quality of life. That will involve supporting members in building additional basic social and fine motor skills, demonstrating how to provide self-care, and empowering them to communicate with healthcare professionals.

In addition to improving oral health outcomes, the pilot will also improve utilization within the Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) network and Avēsis care managers through the use of secure messaging and access to personalized wellness plans within the MapHabit System.

Other future areas of focus will include activities of daily living (ADL), instrumental ADLs, and access to the community, including employment and social interaction the individual member is working on, achieving in, and needs additional support to achieve.

“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,” Paige Mankovich, CEO of Aetna Better Health of Kentucky, said in a statement.

“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.”

(Image source: wikimedia.org)