HXR 2016: Improving Insurance Member Experiences -Dr. Vidya Raman-Tangella

HXRefactored UHC Innovation Center of Excellence Vidya Raman-Tangella April 5, 2016

HCD Studio • Innovation Center for Excellence

The Innovation CoE’s HCD Studio uses Human Centered Design

methods to rethink how we deliver products and services to market.


We deeply understand people's articulated and unarticulated needs to inform the

creation of meaningful solutions.

We employ a rigorous approach to improve the quality, consistency and

reliability of innovation at UnitedHealthcare.


For UnitedHealthcare, often that means focusing on complex, systemic kinds of

problems or serving hard to reach populations.


We’ve been experimenting with how we can address social determinants

of health.


50/50 Roles Social, economic and physical factors

are equally important as traditional clinical and health behaviors in determining health outcomes.

Lack of basic needs lead to poor health


We’ve been digging deep into how to address the health impact of

social determinants.

But many individuals with the most need don’t ask for help.

Our friends are complex and vulnerable. We have to do outreach to people where they are

and who they are. Everyone can’t fit the rules…Nobody is going to push the system

for them because they’re homeless. They feel terrible about themselves and they’re not

going to tell a doctor they’re wrong.

Ingrid, social worker in Nashville


Our research in Detroit, Phoenix and Nashville helped us understand how to

approach people who were not getting the holistic services they needed to get out of

the cycle of poverty.

Here is some of our learning.


Piggyback on anchor servInnovation Center for Excellences

People come here for the meals but we also have a case worker they can meet with. Every

Wednesdays we take people to the dentist. People know it’s a regular thing.

— Brother Jerry from the Soup Kitchen


Show we know their local area to gain trust

A lot of folks do provide help but they don’t want to advertise it. Churches will provide glasses. Equipment stores will donate or rent. If you don’t know the area, you have no way of knowing

about these hidden resources – how would you know that you can ask the Rotary Club to build ramps? —

Maribeth, Greater City Council on Aging


Put them on equal ground

A man came in and asked what an apricot was. I was able to give him a taste and then he asked about

what he could and couldn’t eat with diabetes. It’s comfortable here and people ask other questions a lot, like “do you have free food?” I send them to

CDC to find out where they can go for food.

— Liz, Peaches and Greens


Our approach is to create a system of pathways

Screening + referrals at multiple locations in places

people already go in their neighborhood (church,

homeless shelter, food pantry, day care center, soup kitchen, FQHC) to offer different paths into the servInnovation Center

for Excellence.

This approach can meet everyone in a community and

catch people who are otherwise left out.

Providing people a bridge to servInnovation Center for

Excellences in different locations in a community (e.g. pop-up

booth, mobile unit, embedded resource navigator)

Offering multiple servInnovation Center for Excellences across

different locations


Make it feel local and approachable


How can we support the integration of physical health and behavioral health so that we can treat the whole person?



Personas for inspiration


Getting multiple perspectives


Barriers to getting the right care


A solution to bring the pieces together


Approachable and supportive


African American/Black women are dying at rates greater than any other

group of women in this country.

We designed a service that seeks to proactively impact AA/Black women’s

understanding of Pre-Diabetes and empower them to makes new choices.




Authentic brand story


Six Key Service Elements


We learned that this culturally sensitive service design worked.


We tracked behaviors