Accolade Introduces First Employer Health and Benefits Solution that Integrates Employee Mental and Physical Healthcare

SEATTLE, Sept. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Accolade (NASDAQ: ACCD), a personalized health and benefits solution for employers, health plans and their members, announces a new solution that integrates mental and physical healthcare for better employee health and reduced healthcare costs. The new Mental Health Integrated Care solution is in partnership with Ginger, the leader in on-demand mental healthcare.

This partnership between Accolade and Ginger aims to further destigmatize the need to seek mental health support and treatment, and manage their physical and mental health needs in a comprehensive, integrated, easy-to-access way, with a single point of entry, and support at every step. Offered to Accolade's customers and more than 1.7 million members, the solution enables Accolade to expand access to on-demand mental health coaching, virtual therapy, and virtual psychiatry, and collaboratively deliver those services alongside a member's Accolade care team.

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, there is a growing emotional and mental health crisis impacting the lives of individuals, their families, and employers around the country. With this partnership, Accolade  will:

• Use its data and intelligence capabilities to identify members at risk for mental health issues and proactively  outreach to them. Accolade's frontline care teams will conduct an assessment and work with members to uncover their needs, destigmatize mental healthcare, and guide them to the most appropriate mental health provider, including on-demand virtual services from Ginger and the employer's EAP.
• Team with Ginger team to coordinate care for the member using a shared care plan, implementing a rapid escalation process between Accolade and Ginger, discussing cases in joint case rounds and exchanging data including the member's after-visit summaries from Ginger. Accolade addresses physical health needs, including member medication adherence and barriers to physical and mental health, and collaborates with the member's primary care physician.
• Track clinical outcomes across all levels of risk – where most mental health solutions only track utilization and access. Accolade's Mental Health Integrated Care will provide pre- and post-assessment results data and reporting data including specific depression and anxiety assessment scores such as PHQ-9 and GAD-7.

As one of the first adopters of this new solution, Temple Health University System will look to Accolade's Mental Health Integrated Care to make mental healthcare more convenient and efficient for employees. "Temple has a diverse employee base of healthcare professionals who are working incredibly hard through difficult times and, in line with high-performing health systems throughout the country, 2020 has taken a toll on our teams. We understand the importance of driving medical advances through clinical innovation – and we are quick to recognize that Accolade is delivering an integrated mental and physical health solution that can have significant impact on the overall well-being of our people, and our business," said John Lasky, Executive VP, Chief Human Resources Officer, at Temple University Health System.

Employee and workforce health – physical, emotional, and mental – is critical for business continuity and retention, but many employers are ill-equipped to confront these challenges, despite increased investments in employee assistance programs and other solutions.

"This year has been extremely hard on so many of us, as COVID-19 continues to disrupt our way of life. As a result, our country's emotional and mental health is suffering, exacerbating chronic conditions and risking downstream health complications and costs," said Accolade Chief Medical Officer Shantanu Nundy, MD. "Accolade Mental Health Integrated Care is a comprehensive solution for employers to manage the combined effects of physical and mental health issues in their populations and based on decades of research demonstrating positive impact on health outcomes and cost-savings."

According to Ginger's 2020 Workforce Attitudes Toward Mental Health Report, nearly 70% of U.S. workers believe that this is the most stressful period of their careers, including major events like the September 11th terror attacks, the 2008 Great Recession and others. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, tumultuous socio-political climate and economic uncertainty, Ginger has observed record-high demand for mental health support. In the last week of August 2020, weekly utilization rates were 148% higher for behavioral health coaching and 280% higher for therapy and psychiatry when compared to pre-COVID-19 averages.

"Physical and mental health conditions often go hand-in-hand, and it's time that we start treating them that way," said Justin Hunt, Medical Director and Head of Psychiatry at Ginger. "Ginger's on-demand mental healthcare system combined with Accolade's personalized approach to care navigation are a significant step towards narrowing the gulf between mental and physical health - resulting in cost-effective, better health outcomes."

About Accolade
Accolade (NASDAQ: ACCD) provides personalized health and benefits solutions designed to empower every person to live their healthiest life. Using a blend of cloud-based technologies, specialized support from Accolade Health Assistants® and Clinicians, and integrated data and programs across mobile, online and phone, Accolade navigates people through the healthcare system with trust, empathy and ease. Employers offer Accolade to employees and their families as the single place to turn for all health, healthcare, and benefits questions or concerns, increasing their engagement in benefits and connecting them to high-quality providers and care. By empowering members to make better decisions about their health, Accolade can support members in lowering the cost and complexity of healthcare while achieving consumer satisfaction ratings over 90 percent and an NPS of 60. For more information, visit Accolade on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and at www.accolade.com.

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SOURCE Accolade