What You Should Know:
– WebMD Ignite, the leading full-service growth partner for organizations in the healthcare industry, today announced enhancements to Coach®, its industry-leading care management solution for health plans.
– WebMD Ignite Coach is a comprehensive digital health engagement platform that empowers health plans to drive ongoing member involvement and interaction.
WebMD Ignite’s Enhanced Coach Platform: Scalable, SMS-Driven Health Engagement for Optimized Outcomes
WebMD Ignite continues to lead in transforming care management with its enhanced Coach platform, empowering health plans to modernize member outreach, improve engagement, and drive measurable outcomes. As a trusted partner to more than half of the top 20 U.S. health plans, WebMD Ignite integrates proprietary technology, advanced analytics, and strategic outreach tools to streamline operations and optimize member health.
The latest upgrades to the Coach platform introduce advanced SMS text-messaging capabilities, designed to reduce operational costs and improve care outcomes by enabling care managers to communicate with members in real-time, via their preferred channels. With 99% of text messages opened and 90% read within three minutes, this approach significantly outperforms traditional outreach methods such as phone calls and print mailings. The SMS integration also supports key performance goals including increased medication adherence, higher outpatient visit rates, improved preventive care participation, and reduced hospitalizations, readmissions, and emergency visits.
These enhancements offer:
- Real-time reach, ensuring that push notifications deliver timely health education and behavioral prompts;
- Custom-branded templates, allowing each health plan to align messages with their unique identity;
- Member-centric delivery, offering concise, actionable information directly to mobile devices for maximum convenience;
- Integrated workflows, enabling care managers to manage education delivery, track engagement, and handle opt-in/opt-out processes within a single platform.
The introduction of population-wide campaign functionality further expands Coach’s utility, allowing health plans to engage large member groups with automated, personalized health education. These campaigns can target specific populations, schedule outreach over time, and tailor messages based on location or health events—supporting both clinical and administrative population health goals. Users can also upload member lists, automate message delivery, and monitor key metrics such as delivery, open, and completion rates using Coach’s robust analytics suite.
Backed by a comprehensive library of health education resources, behavioral-change methodologies, and in-depth campaign development tools, Coach equips healthcare organizations to:
- Deliver targeted campaigns for chronic disease management and preventive care;
- Inspire healthy behaviors through mobile-first engagement;
- Support care management teams with actionable insights and streamlined communication;
- Enhance operational efficiency through scalable digital outreach.
Veronica Short, Vice President of Product Management at WebMD Ignite, emphasized the impact of these advancements: “Today’s members expect seamless, mobile-first experiences. Coach’s enhanced SMS capabilities empower care managers to connect with members in the moments that matter—quickly, effectively, and at scale.”
Purpose-built to address healthcare industry challenges, WebMD Ignite’s Coach platform is a critical component of a broader suite of services that equip health plans to drive acquisition, build loyalty, and improve clinical and operational performance through targeted digital health solutions.
