Can technology and incentives prod us into healthier habits?

Aug. 31--What financial incentive would you need to take six brief walks daily to improve your health?

For some people in the workplace, the amount turns out to be $3 a day.

Insurance giant UnitedHealthcare came to that figure as part of its Motion program available to about 300,000 workers nationwide through certain employer-provided health plans with high deductibles.

Under Motion, employees wear fitness trackers, set up an account and agree to share their data through a smartphone app.

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In return, they get a $3 per day credit in their health savings or reimbursement accounts when they hit walking targets. The credit can be used to offset co-pays and other out-of-pocket medical expenses.

"Through sensing technology and devices, we can now get verifiable biometric data," said Mark Smith, senior vice president of emerging technologies at UnitedHealthcare. "Ten thousand steps a day at a certain intensity -- what would it take to get someone to do that? We landed at about $3."

UnitedHealthcare's efforts highlight how the health care industry is trying to uncover ways to tap common consumer fitness trackers and smart watches to lower health costs.

The company discussed what it had learned over the years with its Motion program at the Connected Health Summit this week in San Diego, hosted by Parks Associates, an industry research and consulting firm. The conference focused on the expansion of connected medical devices and tele-health services.

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Participation in Motion hovers around 30 percent to 35 percent of eligible workers, said Smith. That compares with mid-single-digit percentage participation for wellness or disease management programs offered at the workplace.

"It was designed to solve a significant problem," he said. "Despite the proliferation of disease management and similar programs, the key issue is lack of engagement. It's not about the technology or the device. It is getting them to use that device."

About 15 percent of U.S. households with broadband Internet have at least one connected pedometer or fitness tracker, and another 11 percent have a smart watch, according to Parks Associates research.

While these devices generate health-related data, it largely resides outside of the health care system.

"To suggest that the industry knows exactly how to deploy that data, I think we have much to learn there," said Smith. "But we are starting to walk down that path."

UnitedHealthcare started the Motion program on the premise that "walking is medicine," said Smith. Research suggests walking helps maintain a healthy weight and can reduce hypertension, increase mobility and improve mood. It cuts the risk of developing heart disease and the progression of Type 2 diabetes for people at risk.

Motion requires specific tasks to earn the reward. To prevent prolonged sitting, the program calls for six walks per day of a least 500 steps within seven minutes. One of those walks must be intense, with 3,000 steps within 30 minutes. And in all, daily steps need to reach 10,000.

The Motion program has slowed the pace of health care cost increases for employers who offered it compared with those who didn't over a three-year period, Smith said.

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He noted that UnitedHealthcare is working to increase the percentage of employees who participate and lower the dropout rate.

"What this all means is if walking is medicine and if you can get 30 to 35 percent of the people to actually engage in a walking program through incentives, you could use that as a platform to get digital therapeutics," said Smith. "Then you can start to treat things in a very different way."

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