UPMC Prescription for Wellness

UPMC Health Plan wants to partner with you to help your employees and their families. Through UPMC Prescription for Wellness—a nationally recognized, Six Sigma developed best practice patient engagement mechanism—your company can create or nurture a culture of health and better manage rising medical, disability, and workers’ compensation costs.

In 2023, the National Health Expenditure (NHE) grew 7.5% to $4.9 trillion, $14,570 per person and accounted for 17.6% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).  Private health insurance spending grew 11.5% to $1,464.6 billion in 2023 (30% of the total NHE).1  The key to reducing those costs is changing the behaviors that contribute to poor health. On average, UPMC Health Plan members are 300 percent more likely to enroll in and complete a health coaching program when a physician is involved in the patient referral process through Prescription for Wellness.2

Provider-prescribed, health plan supported, and employee directed

With Prescription for Wellness, providers can prescribe patient engagement with a health coach or care manager to support chronic condition management, lifestyle improvement, behavioral health support, pharmacy intervention, social service intervention, and more.

Once the prescription is submitted, an electronic notification is sent to a UPMC Health Plan health coach or care manager who will "fill" the order. The health coach will connect with the patient via telephone, virtually or digitally at a time that is convenient for the patient. Afterward, the health coach or care manager will send the provider feedback detailing the outcome and the patient’s progress.

Our health coaches and care managers are nurses, dietitians, social workers, exercise experts, or other licensed or trained clinicians. They will work with your employees to create a tailored plan for achieving the employees’ best health. Health coaches and care managers can address these and other topics:

  • Lifestyle improvement (such as weight management, physical activity and tobacco cessation)
  • Management of chronic health condition (such as diabetes, high blood pressure, or asthma)
  • Making informed decisions about surgeries
  • Improving a family’s well-being

We welcome the opportunity to work with you to effectively manage the health and wellness of your employees. To learn more about Prescription for Wellness, contact your group health and wellness account manager.

1NHE Fact Sheet | CMS

2Hammonds T, Keyser DJ, Parkinson MD, Peele PB, Wheeler JR. Impact of physician referral to health coaching on patient engagement and health risks: An observational study of UPMC’s Prescription for Wellness. Am J Health Promot. 2020 May;34(4):366-375. Epub 2020 Feb 12. doi: 10.1177/0890117119900588