There is a disconnect between the digital health and wellness programs employers are offering their workers and how employees are responding to them, says a new survey of 350 companies and 1,000 employees.

Employers are pouring on the digital healthcare services, looking to cut rising healthcare costs by promoting better health and fitness for their employees.

But there is a disconnect between the digital health and wellness programs employers are offering their workers and how employees are responding to them, says a new survey of 350 companies and 1,000 employees, based on a new survey from Castlight Health.

The survey finds that both employers and employees like employer-sponsored digital health and wellness programs.  For example, 23% of companies are offering—or plan to offer—their employees a range of online health and wellness programs this year.

Employers have access to an explosion of new digital health solutions, but most of them continue to offer the same solutions they always have,

For example, the average employer offers 14 health and wellness programs, including nine procured from a health plan and five programs from a third-party service. Employers with 15,000 or more employees are even more likely to offer additional programs, with 30% of big companies offering 20 or more programs.

Those programs may include online health and wellness programs to track activities, biometrics screening, diabetes prevention, financial wellness, access to a gym and health coaching, nutrition management, stress and resilience and health risk assessment.

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Employees apparently like and use digital health and wellness programs. The survey finds that 98% of employees having utilized at least one form of health technology, although millennials are only 1.2 times more likely to use digital health programs and services than older groups such as Baby Boomers.

But even though both employees and employers like to use online health and wellness tools, both sides apparently have a disconnect in the reasons and expectations for how they use them.

For example, 51% of employers believe digital healthcare can help employees better manage a chronic disease such as diabetes and 50% see telehealth as a cost savings program for the company and employees. 58% of employers also offer—or will offer—digital tools to help employees lose weight or stop smoking.

But employers’ most commonly offered digital health benefits address health issues that employees rarely report as top health goals, says the survey. Employers continue to invest in digital programs that they themselves acknowledge have the weakest business case or lowest engagement

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For example, employee assistance and smoking cessation programs, and health risk assessments which are widely implemented, but fall short of employers’ expectation for their impact on employee health and satisfaction.

“Employers have access to an explosion of new digital health solutions, but most of them continue to offer the same solutions they always have, even though they are not delivering better health or cost-savings,” says Castlight senior vice president of growth Pierce Graham-Jones. “To realize the full promise of digital health innovation, employers need to identify solutions that hit the sweet spot, driving engagement, increasing employee satisfaction.”

For their part, workers are using online health and wellness programs, but with different results in mind.

The Castlight survey finds:

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  • More than 50% of employees are currently using a children’s health and obesity tool, pregnancy program, smoking cessation program, or diabetes management tool.
  • More than 20% of employees are now using a chronic condition management tool, mental health program, gym, weight loss, or retirement savings program.
  • Employees are finding the digital health solutions that meet their health goals— with or without their employer.
  • Employees already are using digital technology to help them lose weight and sleep better and are 5.9 times and 5.8 times more likely, respectively, to access that technology directly, rather than through their employer.
  • Overall, employees are 1.8 times more likely to use digital health directly, rather than accessing through their employer.

“Employers have access to an explosion of new digital health solutions, but most of them continue to offer the same solutions they always have, even though they are not delivering better health or cost-savings,” Graham-Jones says. “To realize the full promise of digital health innovation, employers need to identify solutions that are driving engagement, increasing employee satisfaction and all while delivering a strong business case.”

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