HealthMedia and Aetna to Study Online Insomnia and Depression Interventions

Controlled Trial Conducted with Pilot Programs

ANN ARBOR, Mich., June 19 /PRNewswire/ -- HealthMedia, Inc., the global
leader in scalable behavior change interventions with outcomes, announced a
new research study with Aetna which will provide HealthMedia's Overcoming(TM)
Insomnia and Overcoming(TM) Depression online behavior change interventions to
at least 400,000 eligible employees of Aetna's large employer members.
Together, HealthMedia and Aetna will conduct a controlled trial to study the
effectiveness of the online interventions in improving workplace productivity
and reducing healthcare costs. This study will be part of a larger Aetna
initiative focusing on driving behavior change across all conditions.
"We recognize that depression and insomnia are both problems that are
major drivers of healthcare costs, employee productivity and the overall
health and happiness of our members," said Michael Golinkoff, PhD, Aetna
National Clinical Director. "We are very optimistic that these two HealthMedia
programs can add tremendous value and augment the current treatment offerings
for our members."
In fact research has shown that:
-- Depression is associated with 27.2 annual lost workdays per worker
-- Workers with depression reported significantly more total
health-related lost productive time than those without depression
(5.6 hrs/week vs. 1.5 hrs/week)
-- Those with severe insomnia miss work twice as often as good sleepers
-- The annual cost for absenteeism per worker with insomnia is $4,800

Aetna plans to utilize an integrated database to identify participants for
the two programs. For the insomnia program, Aetna will identify members who
are chronic users of prescription sleep medications. For the depression
program, participants will include members who are not responding well to
their current treatment programs.
With implementation set to begin in the second quarter of 2008, the pilot
programs will be studied in a controlled trial that will examine three
important areas. First, the trial will study the value of intelligent
recruitment, by using highly-tailored communications to recruit participants
into the two programs. In addition, these highly-tailored communications will
continue throughout the interventions to help motivate members' ongoing
participation.
"One of the key differentiators in successful wellness, disease
management, and behavioral health programs is the ability to connect with
users meaningfully to encourage continued positive change," said Ted Dacko,
HealthMedia President and CEO. "Participation is among our top project
priorities because no matter how well an intervention works, if we can't draw
the participants, we won't ultimately be successful."
Second, the trial will study the impact of the two programs on costs and
effectiveness, compared to current treatments. The depression program will
study the impact of Web-based services on treatment outcomes. The insomnia
program will study the impact on prescription medication utilization.
According to one study, Americans filled more than 35 million prescriptions
for sleeping pills in 2004, spending $2.1 billion. Studies predict these costs
to double by the end of the decade. Golinkoff confirmed that Aetna's
prescription insomnia medication costs have been steadily increasing as well,
and is looking to the HealthMedia program to see if a Web-based based,
cognitive behavior change program can decrease member reliance on sleep
medications.
Beyond the costs, medications are not a long-term solution for insomniacs.
The National Institutes of Health, the New England Journal of Medicine and
other prominent medical organizations recommend behavioral therapy as the best
and most effective treatment for insomnia.
Finally, the trial will study the general value of utilizing Web-based
behavior change programs to treat both insomnia and depression.
About Aetna
Aetna is one of the nation's leading diversified health care benefits
companies, serving approximately 36.7 million people with information and
resources to help them make better informed decisions about their health care.
Aetna offers a broad range of traditional and consumer-directed health
insurance products and related services, including medical, pharmacy, dental,
behavioral health, group life and disability plans, and medical management
capabilities and health care management services for Medicaid plans. Our
customers include employer groups, individuals, college students, part-time
and hourly workers, health plans, governmental units, government-sponsored
plans, labor groups and expatriates. www.aetna.com
About HealthMedia, Inc.
HealthMedia, Inc. is the global leader in scalable behavior change
interventions with outcomes. HealthMedia's proven outcomes increase
compliance, reduce medical utilization, and increase productivity -- boosting
profitability for health plans, employers, pharmaceutical companies, and
behavioral health organizations. A fusion of their own unique technology and
proven behavioral science, HealthMedia delivers individually tailored behavior
change interventions for health and wellness, disease management, behavioral
health, and medication compliance. Clients include Kaiser Permanente, UPS,
Cleveland Clinic, Johnson & Johnson, GSK, and eight Blue Cross Blue Shield
organizations across the United States. HealthMedia partners include APS
Healthcare, Corphealth, Health Dialog, Wellsource, and SHPS. For more
information visit www.healthmedia.com

Available Topic Expert(s): For information on the listed expert(s), click
appropriate link.
Richard Bedrosian, PhD
http://profnet.prnewswire.com/Subscriber/ExpertProfile.aspx?ei=76105

Ted Dackohttp://profnet.prnewswire.com/Subscriber/ExpertProfile.aspx?ei=78153
SOURCE HealthMedia, Inc.

Caren Kenney of HealthMedia, Inc., +1-508-942-4407, ckenney@healthmedia.com