How To Help Employees Get Healthcare Expert Information (and Avoid Misinformation)

The healthcare and benefits system has become so complex that employees may feel lost when they try to access guidance on their healthcare and benefits options.??

The amount and complexity of information—often contradictory—employees come across can be overwhelming. People may turn to unverified sources in their search for answers, leading to misinformation. According to research, 72% of people use the internet first when they need health-related information. A recent evaluation by physicians found that almost a third (31%) of popular social media posts addressing health topics provided misinformation, increasing the risk of people delaying standard treatment or engaging individuals in potentially dangerous, expensive, and futile therapies. The stakes are high: poor decisions based on unreliable sources can lead to delays in care, higher healthcare costs, and employee dissatisfaction.?

How can HR leaders ensure employees have access to accurate and timely expert healthcare information and avoid misinformation?

This article will explore the difficulties people face when navigating the healthcare and benefits system and how leveraging technology can help overcome these challenges. The goal is to empower people with next-generation navigation, connecting them to real-time, personalized answers to their health and benefits questions, reducing dependence on unreliable sources, and lightening the load on HR, which often becomes the destination for answers.

4 Challenges Employees Face When Accessing Healthcare Information

People often encounter several barriers when trying to access reliable, accurate sources of information, which may increase the likelihood of poor health decisions and underutilization of benefits. Let's analyze the root causes of these challenges:

1. Overload of Conflicting Information: Employees can find an overwhelming amount of healthcare-related content online, often with contradictory advice. Since it’s difficult to determine what information is accurate, people may feel confused and uncertain about the steps to take.
2. Dependence on Unreliable Sources: Without access to experts, people may turn to search engines or social media to find answers to their healthcare questions. These sources can lead to misinformation, increasing the risk of poor health decisions and missed preventive care opportunities.
3. Complex Benefits Jargon: Healthcare and benefits documents are often filled with technical terms and can be challenging to read. It’s like you need a PhD in benefits to understand them! People who don’t understand their healthcare options may feel frustrated and discouraged from engaging with their benefits.
4. Limited Access to Clinicians: Employees often delay receiving professional guidance because of limited clinician access or inconvenient appointment scheduling. As a result, they are more likely to delay necessary care, possibly worsening health outcomes.

5 Strategies HR Leaders Can Implement to Provide Trusted Healthcare Information

Among HR leaders’ responsibilities is ensuring employees have access to accurate healthcare information and the right tools and resources to confidently make decisions, avoiding any potential risks of misinformation. The complexities mentioned above underline the need for one place to go that simplifies healthcare navigation and facilitates immediate access to reliable answers, expert guidance, and on-demand care. Here are five actionable strategies HR leaders can implement to meet these needs while increasing benefit utilization and improving employees' well-being:

1. Introduce a Unified Healthcare Platform: Provide employees with a single platform for all health-related services and information to streamline their access to resources. A unified, easy-to-use platform that integrates all things healthcare into one place avoids confusion.??
2. Leverage Real-Time AI-Powered Tools: Use an AI-powered experience that allows employees to “Just Ask” and get instant answers to all their healthcare questions. This empowers people to control their healthcare, prevents delays in access to care, and minimizes the need to go to HR for clarification.
3. Offer On-Demand Virtual Care: Ensure employees have 24/7 on-demand access to virtual care to get help anytime, anywhere. Quick access to high-quality care reduces absenteeism, enhances productivity, and prevents minor issues from escalating into more significant health concerns.
4. Provide Personalized Educational Resources: Offer personalized educational materials to address your workforce's diverse health literacy levels. This will help employees receive the correct information relevant to their needs and encourage them to make informed decisions about their healthcare benefits options.
5. Use Analytics to Track Engagement: Pick a platform that provides HR teams with valuable insights into how employees engage with healthcare and use their benefits. Analytics data will help your organization identify communication gaps, optimize benefit offerings, and find areas for improvement in health management strategies.

5 Potential Benefits of Providing Employees with Next-Generation Navigation

When HR leaders prioritize access to accurate, reliable, expert healthcare information, employees and organizations enjoy a handful of benefits:

1. Better Health Outcomes: Employees with access to real-time, expert guidance can be more likely to take proactive steps toward their care, preventing minor health issues from escalating and leading to better long-term health outcomes.
2. Higher Benefits Utilization: When people have instant answers to their questions and understand their healthcare and benefits options, they are usually more engaged in using their benefits. Timely access to preventive care helps employees maintain their health and promotes efficient benefit utilization.
3. Reduced HR Administrative Load: With AI-powered tools like Transcarent WayFinding, which allows people to “Just Ask Transcarent,” they receive accurate answers instantly from the palm of their hand. This reduces the burden on HR and allows benefit leaders to focus more on strategic initiatives, improving overall productivity.
4. Increased Employee Satisfaction and Retention: Employees who have access to the healthcare resources they need feel more supported and valued. This increases trust and loyalty and improves employee satisfaction and talent retention across the workforce.
5. Optimized Healthcare Costs: Employees who feel empowered to control their health make better-informed decisions, reducing unnecessary medical interventions and promoting preventive care. A well-informed workforce is more likely to engage with cost-efficient healthcare options, leading to long-term savings for the organization.

Key Insights

• Combating Misinformation Is Essential: Employees often rely on unverified sources of healthcare information, leading to poor decisions and increased healthcare costs. Ensuring they have access to trusted, expert information minimizes these risks and promotes better health outcomes.
• HR Must Facilitate Reliable Information: Connecting employees to one place for accurate, real-time healthcare information reduces the risk of misinformation and helps employees manage their healthcare and benefits confidently.
• AI-powered Tools Bridge the Information Gap: AI-powered tools like Transcarent Wayfinding help reduce HR’s workload and ensure people always receive reliable support and guidance. Employees can "Just Ask" and get instant answers, personalized recommendations, and 24/7 access to care, all from the palm of their hand.
• A Unified Platform Drives Benefits Utilization: When employees have one place to go for all their healthcare needs and questions, navigation and access to healthcare options are simpler. Employees are more engaged with their benefits and empowered to proactively take control of their health and care.
• Simplified Access Is Beneficial for Employees and Employers: Access to accurate healthcare information improves employee satisfaction and well-being while optimizing healthcare costs. It’s a win-win for the workforce and the organization, creating a healthier, more productive environment.

Explore the Future of Healthcare Navigation

AI-powered next-generation navigation improves the employee experience by providing people with reliable, 24/7, on-demand access to accurate healthcare and benefits information, expert clinical guidance, and on-demand, high-quality care.

With Transcarent WayFinding, people can "Just Ask Transcarent" to get instant answers, personalized healthcare and benefits recommendations, access to expert healthcare guidance, and on-demand care whenever needed, all from the palm of their hand.

Explore how Transcarent WayFinding can empower your workforce: https://bit.ly/3Ui1CXN

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