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Big Questions Answered helps us understand important CVS Health initiatives by taking a closer look at new products, powerful innovations and the big changes the company is making to achieve its strategic imperatives and build a world of health around every consumer. The company's senior leaders answer big questions from host Matt McGuire.
Matt McGuire
Preventive care helps people stay healthier by preventing disease, detecting health issues early and reducing the risk of serious illness. Regular screenings and annual wellness exams with a primary care physician can lead to early diagnosis of conditions like cancer, diabetes and heart disease, making it easier to treat at early stages. And by preventing disease or identifying them at a treatable stage, preventive care can add years to a person's life and improve their overall well-being.
On this episode of Big Questions Answered, we’ll learn about the important role preventive care plays within Aetna, why it’s important for us to be engaged in our heath care and why mental health screenings are an important part of preventive care.
Welcome to Big Questions Answered, a podcast that helps us understand the important initiatives at CVS Health. I’m Matt McGuire from the Enterprise Communications team. I’ll be your host as we take a closer look at new products, powerful innovations and the big changes we’re making to achieve our strategic imperatives and build a world of health around every consumer. Thanks for joining me today as we get our big questions answered.
I’m here with Dr. Ben Kornitzer, Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer at Aetna. Dr. Kornitzer and his team lead the integration and delivery of clinical and population health solutions in support of Aetna members, customers and provider partners. He is a nationally recognized leader in value-based care, primary care and health care transformation.
Dr. Kornitzer, thanks for joining me today.
Dr. Ben Kornitzer
Thank you so much for having me.
Matt McGuire
So, Dr. Kornitzer, preventive care can mean different things depending on who you’re talking to. But in a general sense, what do you mean when you talk about preventive care?
Dr. Ben Kornitzer
Sure. So, if you think about, you know, how most Americans experience care, the American health care system has traditionally been really, really good at high-end treatments. So, think cancer care, transplant care. But the reality is 90% of illness is chronic illness.
And a large percentage of those are preventable. And so, it's what things can we do, proactively, by investing in our health to make sure that we don't wind up with a preventable cancer, with diabetes, with heart disease, with kidney disease, all things that we know through the advancement of science and through public health measures that can really change the way that we experience care. And really the goal is the best care you have is the care that you might not even realize. It's the care that winds up keeping you well and out of the hospital and really spending time with family and loved ones.
I'm reflecting, I recently had some family over at my house. And both my mom and my aunt are breast cancer survivors. And they were playing with my children. So, I have a 2-year-old and a 5-year-old. And seeing that interaction — so much that depends on the health care system where they were really proactive about their care and made sure that they were getting their mammograms. And so being able to be healthy, spend time with loved ones is a benefit of really going and investing in the sorts of things that we know are going to lead to better health care outcomes.
And one of my earliest educational experiences as a newly trained physician was day one at Mass General Hospital. We had a woman who came in with a breast cancer who had traveled all the way up through her arm into her bones. And she wound up only living for another two or three days after we admitted her to the service. And even though I spent only a few Days with this patient, it really stuck with me my entire career that we can invest in care and relationships that hopefully will allow people to experience a very different outcome than this woman had.
Matt McGuire
Yeah, absolutely. So, what challenges do Americans face when they try to access preventive care?
Dr. Ben Kornitzer
Yeah, it really is one of the shortcomings of the U.S. health care system that we've made it so difficult for people to get preventive care. And if you think about it, prevention is really hard. You know, you don't feel when you have high blood pressure, you don't feel different if you haven't got your flu vaccine but you haven't got the flu yet. And, so, having people make decisions when they have other things going on in their lives — they have children that they may be taken care of, they may be helping with elderly parents, they have deadlines at work. And, so, taking the time to really prioritize prevention can be really, really hard to fit in.
So, I think there's a couple of things that we can do that are really important. You know, No. 1, physicians like myself, we need to invest in the relationship that we have with patients. You know, the trust that we build is really important to help people understand why taking the time out from their busy schedules really matters, why it's important for them to get vaccines or to have their children vaccinated communicable diseases.
And then as a payor, there are things that we can do too, right? So do we make sure that we're helping our members get access? Are we helping with benefit designs that make preventive services low or no cost? And, so, I think there really is a partnership here, and that partnership is between the members themselves, between providers and employers — all of whom really have a role in promoting what I think is an opportunity for all of us to live longer, healthier, better lives. And you know, when you take preventive care seriously, you're not just adding years to life, but you're really adding life to years.
Matt McGuire
So, as someone in a senior position within Aetna, where does preventive care play a role within the organization, and why is it so important?
Dr. Ben Kornitzer
Yeah. So, so again, the highest value care that you can give, is care that actually prevents the sort of acute exacerbations that aren't good for anyone. They're not good for patients. Our commitment to the members that we serve is that we want them to live their best and healthiest lives possible.
And so we do that a number of ways. We make it as easy as possible for them to access that preventable care. We engage in digital tools and other outreach opportunities so that they understand when they may be due for a flu vaccine, mammography, when they should be seeing their primary care doctor. We also think about health care very holistically, right? And so prevention isn't just about physical medicine, it's also about mental well-being, behavioral health. And so we make sure that they have access to care. So for example, at Aetna, we're part of CVS Health. So, we make sure that people have access to things like mental health services through our virtual primary care platform.
Matt McGuire
So, what does great preventive care look like?
Dr. Ben Kornitzer
Yeah. You know, great preventive care is proactive, and it's people really being engaged in their health care. And, so there's a couple of things that that people, you know, can do, right? So, you should have a checklist, right? So are you up to date on your vaccines? Are you engaging in a thoughtful way about the sorts of numbers that are really going to be important. So do you know your blood pressure, your cholesterol? Small changes can make big results. So, think about diet, right? Are we swapping out sugary drinks for healthier drinks? Are we eating vegetables? Are we taking walks? Are we turning off our computer screens before we go to bed? As I mentioned earlier, mental health counts. And so, are we checking in with ourselves, with loved ones?
You know, I think that as a as a chief medical officer for a national payor, people should be understanding what benefits do they have in terms of free preventive visits, wellness coaching, digital reminders, fitness benefits. And then people should be engaging with their doctors and asking their doctors what they can do more proactively. And then the last one that I would say, which I think is just so important, we also in this country have an epidemic of loneliness. Now there's been a lot of research showing that human connection is actually one of the things that can really improve the quality and the quantity of life. And so, we should be very thoughtful about developing relationships with people and investing in those relationships. I think that's also an important part of our health. And then when you step back, there are different stages of life. I love the fact that at Aetna we deal with everyone from pregnant mothers to their newborn children to to young adults going all the way through older adults and approaching end of life. And so it's going to be different for each stage of that journey. But, you know, for children, it's really largely around vaccinations, getting regular vision and hearing checks, healthy eating patterns.
As people wind up getting older, beginning to have blood pressure checks, other routine examinations. And then it's midlife when a lot of those screenings begin to kick in — so think cholesterol checks, diabetes, colonoscopies, mammographies, checking for cervical cancer.
And then as people age, looking at things like fall prevention, bone density, shingles or pneumococcal vaccines, beginning to screen people for cognitive challenges. That's really becoming an issue with, you know, significant national impact. And then finally as we approach end of life, thinking about advanced care planning. And so you know prevention tends to evolve with our members. It's really not a one-size-fits-all.
Matt McGuire
Yeah, absolutely. So, I'm curious, how are some employers encouraging colleagues to get annual preventive care?
Dr. Ben Kornitzer
Yeah. So, there's a range of different approaches that organizations have taken. You know, many of them offer, you know, free annual wellness benefits to their members on no cost sharing for those. But there's also activities that they do in terms of direct outreach. So, for blood pressure, many employers are actually having blood pressure screenings at work, they'll make certain vaccinations, flu and COVID often available at a workforce site as well. Often a benefit that we see is access to virtual care. So, I mentioned the CVS offering that we have. We want to make it as easy as possible for people to access the care that they really need, so they can proactively take ownership of their health care.
Matt McGuire
So, you've talked a little bit about mental health. I'm curious, people are sometimes confused about who to talk to about mental health screenings. Are they a part of preventive care? And if they are, how can members or patients go about setting up these screenings?
Dr. Ben Kornitzer
Yeah. So, a mental health checkup is absolutely an integrated part of what a regular preventive health care screening should be. And so, as part of that engagement with their primary care, individuals really should have that holistic access to early screenings and then be able to be directed, to the sites of service that will really help them. I mentioned earlier, you know, we're very, very proud of the work that we're doing with the CVS Health virtual primary care. And there there's an opportunity not just for physical health screenings, but mental health screenings as well to evaluate for mood disorders, depression, support with stress, life adjustments, conflict resolution.
CVS also has a MinuteClinic offering for mental health counseling where there's virtual talk therapy. And we know that that's something that's been, you know, extremely valuable for individuals as well. And so, there's a number of ways that people can access that care, and we think it's really important to have that integrated approach both to physical and to behavioral health.
Matt McGuire
So, Dr. Kornitzer, to wrap things up, I'm curious, how does Aetna reach out to members and work with them throughout the different stages of their life journey — everyone from babies to middle-age men, to older adults at a Medicare age — how does Aetna reach out to these members and connect with them with preventative care?
Dr. Ben Kornitzer
Yeah. So, there are a number of ways that we're able to do that. So, we have a lot of digital tools that we're investing in that really allow us to engage directly with members so they understand, you know, what screenings they may have due, what benefits may be valuable in terms of primary care, behavioral health and other services that would be really important to them. We've invested significantly on the online resources where our members can begin to educate themselves as well. And then working, you know, both of the primary care community, having the benefits package that really encourages people to get the care they need in a way that advances their own health and lets them live their best and healthiest lives.
Matt McGuire
Dr. Kornitzer, I had a great time talking with you today. Thank you very much for stopping by.
Dr. Ben Kornitzer
It's been a pleasure. Hope to be back. Take care.
Matt McGuire
And a big thanks to you for tuning in to this episode. Until next time, I'm Matt McGuire. I look forward to joining you again to get more big questions answered.