ActivHealth was formed in partnership with Duke University Medical Center, a world-renown leader in health promotion and wellness to get needed and trusted information to individuals in a format that is easy to understand and permits Employers to track participation and compliance within their prescribed program(s).

"The Personal Health Development (PHD) Network," is a comprehensive Health Management System that delivers personalized health and wellness programs in an interactive format via the Internet. We eliminate the time it takes to find relevant health information and since Duke writes all the programs, each user gets only the best, trustworthy. Screened content – in just minutes!

Utilizing proprietary software, ActivHealth has the ability to provide individuals with "personal wellness programs" designed around each member's particular health characteristics. A unique tracking feature permits us to monitor progress and provide participation reports for Employers to demonstrate utilization and compliance.

These programs help individuals achieve personal health goals while helping organizations reduce healthcare costs, improve morale and build brand loyalty. It’s a perfect fit when integrated with existing Workplace Wellness, Disease Management, Patient Education and Consumer Health programs.

Education and training programs are delivered through a proprietary software program that allows each user to interact with the program by responding to questions or materials in a "programmed learning" format. For those enrolled in incentive programs, the employer code will also allow for the assignment of incentive points toward awards provided by their host/sponsoring organization.

As a Disease Management tool, we also include the ability to “predict” onset of various Disease States such as Coronary Heart Disease, Diabetes and Stroke. This information is invaluable in identifying “at risk” individuals and groups and assists in development of targeted intervention programs.

Knowing that you can’t manage what you don’t know, we offer a comprehensive program for disease-specific assessment, identification and stratification. Finding the right individual, at the right time, for the right level of education and intervention is what we do best. Early identification and targeted intervention is a critical component in controlling the high cost of healthcare. Our focus on prevention, education, and intervention is a sound approach toward achieving happier, healthier populations for groups of all sizes.

In short, ActivHealth and The PHD Network overcome some of the significant problems of existing wellness programs by integrating state-of-the-art assessment tools, followed by individually targeted educational programs designed to modify unhealthy lifestyle behaviors – all without the need to attend costly seminars or classes. The PHD Network also provides a consistent and comprehensive database of health and demographic factors essential for long-term information and claims analysis.

The end result is a more productive workforce and a healthier bottom line.

ActivHealth reviewed over 40 documents in the establishment of their original Health Risk Appraisal. Later it was tested and further analyzed against another widely accepted HRA from within the industry. This independent study produced statistically similar results. The current online version builds on the original HRA, but has been reworked to focus on modifiable issues within individual lifestyles and related risk factors rather than serving as a predictor for certain disease risks. The responses to the PHA trigger lesson assignment via a series of algorithms and a Personal Wellness Program is established for each individual (“user”).

An optional component of the program incorporates blood values to an improved Framingham (+) risk assessment for Heart Disease, Diabetes and Stroke.

Note: Our PHD Network program works whether blood values are entered or not, allowing you to reach the people that may not participate in the PHA if you require a blood sample.

All results from the PHA are stored within a secure electronic database. Completing the PHA in subsequent intervals will show progress and trends for each user. In addition, the program allows you to access a variety of Web-enabled reporting features at the sponsor level, permitting updates and usage data on an “as needed” basis throughout the year.

The program components are based on widely accepted norms established by the ADA, ACSM, US Prevention Task Force, CDC, and more. ActivHealth reviewed over 40 published documents in the establishment of the PHA alone! The program materials are all based on widely accepted professional standards and edited by Duke’s staff.

These values are all optional. The PHA will accurately assess risks/assign educational modules upon completion of all required fields. The most advanced risk stratification occurs when using the Disease Risk Profile program for prediction of onset of heart disease, diabetes and stroke, which require a minimum set of lab values including:

•    Glucose
•    Total Cholesterol
•    Triglycerides
•    HDL

The PHA is available online. Not only does this approach reduce data entry costs, this format prompts lesson assignment in “real time” and users get to view their individual chart, health markers, and modifiable behavior issues right away! This helps to establish the “readiness to change” mindset necessary to alter lifestyle issues linked to increased health care costs.

A: Every individual will establish a unique username and password that they select for confidentiality purposes. Employees should be informed that all information is kept confidential by ActivHealth and that the employer does not have access to any personally identifying information. The administrator of your program may have access to aggregate information, but not specific to any individual user. For example, the program administrator will have information on how many programs an individual has completed, but will not have an indication of what programs were accessed or why (assigned to them or just curious about a topic). Composite scores, completion of programs and usage are some measurements the basic reports allow in a confidential manner. To query and maintain the program at this level, you may consider a hosting (sponsor) agreement.

A: A designated program coordinator will complete an initial orientation and training period to learn about the program. The program coordinator can then spearhead introduction of the program directly to employees. We will provide additional support as necessary to help promote use of the service. There are no formal training costs, however, reimbursement of travel costs for onsite training may be applicable.

A:. All content for The PHD Network is developed by professionals at the Duke Center for Living.

The personal health assessment identifies “individual risk factors” and “readiness to change” states as part of an initial collection of key data from each user. From there a targeted lesson plan is presented based on both the risk factors and the initial desire to modify behavior. For example, someone interested in losing weight or lowering cholesterol will receive more lessons in these areas right away than someone not as ready. This permits us to ease each participant into his/her program at a pace they are comfortable with and does not overwhelm someone who is not quite ready to dig in at an aggressive rate.

Progress is tracked by the system and both individual users and Sponsor Administrators can access progress reports for individual users and groups. This permits us to tally utilization and compliance via an incentive point system and work with Sponsors who offer rewards for completion of various modules or thresholds – another key to effective behavior change.

For groups that have a need to present certain information or topics to a specific audience, we also have a feature that permits the assignment of “default lessons” that each member of that group will automatically receive. This assures delivery of targeted messages such as Stress, or Nutrition to everyone even if their health assessment does not “trigger” assignment of the default lessons during enrollment.

A: The PHD Network library contains a wide variety of topics – virtually every area of health promotion and wellness is covered by lessons in our breadth of current lessons.

The library now contains over one hundred (100) titles in various stages of development. Fifty (50) PHD Network programs are posted to the Live Web Site Library and another 50+ are in various stages of development at Duke. We plan to continually add to the PHD Library of Lessons each year, with an anticipated capacity of several hundred titles. Duke also reviews lesson topics periodically to assure information remains up-to-date and accurate.

A list of Current and Future Lessons is available upon request

A: Each person receives a “Health Issues Your Can Change” Chart and Specific Reports about individual Risks for various chronic disease states such as Coronary Heart Disease, Diabetes and Stroke as a lead in to the “Personal Wellness Program” presented to each participant.

A: Yes, each person receives specific information about “Current Health Concerns, Lifestyle Issues, and Disease Risk Profiles, along with a Personal Wellness Program designed around his/her individual health risks and concerns. Each group can access Risk Stratification Reports to identify: 1) areas of concern by theme (disease condition, etc.) within the group as a whole and/or, 2) individuals “at risk” for certain conditions and steps to take to improve/lower the related risks.

A: Information is delivered to employees of each Group in the form of service announcements, news articles in newsletters, Web site links, direct selling efforts by our ActivHealth Service Team and other sales, marketing, and publicity efforts as mutually agreed between ActivHealth and members of our Corporate Health Alliance.

A: All lessons/topics in The PHD Network are developed and reviewed by experts at Duke University Medical Center. Once written and posted to The PHD Network “Library of Lessons,” each topic undergoes a scheduled review based on its content and the likelihood of information changing over time. Lessons are scheduled for review each 6 to 18 months to assure they maintain relevance and accuracy.

A: A health coach is a Registered Dietitian or highly educated and trained professional who holds a degree in a health related field. These professionals assist members in recognizing current health concerns as well as preventing future health related issues.  The client asks questions through electronic coaching (email), which is the most efficient method of working with a health coach.  The health coach will motivate, guide and provide valuable information to assist and encourage clients to make positive lifestyle changes.