Parsley Health to launch women’s health programme for employers

The US medical provider Parsley Health has announced a new women’s health programme for employers.

The programme, available to self-insured employers and plan sponsors nationwide, aims to consolidate a range of women’s health services, targeting the high risk and rising risk populations whose care accounts for 80 per cent of healthcare spend.

Patients in the programme will receive coordinated medical care and health coaching that, Parsley says, are designed to address common chronic conditions and comorbidities, including autoimmune, GI, cardiometabolic, behavioural health, and hormonal conditions.

Women’s healthcare expenses are among the highest for employers and families. Menopause care alone costs employers US$27b annually, maternal morbidity results in US$6.6b in productivity losses each year while around US$80b is spent annually on autoimmune condition management for women, who account for 80 per cent of all autoimmune disorders.

Further, 20 per cent of women of reproductive age have multiple chronic conditions, Parsley argues, contributing significantly to the nearly US$3.15tr spent annually on care for chronic conditions.

“The quintessential workforce age woman needs comprehensive care that spans each phase of her life and supports her beyond her reproductive health goals,” says Dr Robin Berzin, founder and CEO of Parsley Health.

“She needs providers who are by her side throughout the complexities of her journey – whether she has a cancer diagnosis at 25 or her first baby at 40.

“Women make up 60 per cent of the workforce, and their inability to access comprehensive health services designed for their needs drives up employers’ healthcare costs and can prevent top talent from reaching their professional potentials.”

She added: “In traditional care, a woman seeking fertility care alongside chronic pain management for an autoimmune condition would have to bounce between three to five specialists, leading to increased absenteeism, decreased productivity, and an elevated possibility for missed diagnosis due to the gap in communication between providers.

“Parsley’s comprehensive approach to care solves this by including longer visits, telehealth-first appointments, advanced risk assessment tools like the Parsley Symptoms Index, and team-based care – all from providers with additional training in root cause analysis.”

Carladenise Edwards, former executive vice president, chief strategy officer at Henry Ford Health and member of Parsley Health’s medical advisory board, said: “Providing healthcare anchored around Root Cause Resolution medicine that holistically supports women and high risk populations saves costs, improves health outcomes and is a key benefit to attract and keep top talent.

“A recent survey shows that 71 per cent of employees are concerned about their health benefits due to rising costs, and the majority of employees consider the quality of health benefits to be a key factor in staying at their job.

“Parsley’s proven outcomes combined with their impressive customer service experience score makes this programme the kind of benefit employees, particularly women, are looking for.”