94% of Managed Care Executives See Social Network Technology as a Critical Tool for Consumer Engagement, But 86% Think Payers are Not Yet Effectively Leveraging the Social Opportunity

DENVER and FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., March 27, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- WellTok®, Inc., developer of leading social health network, CafeWell™, today announced new data gathered from the Managed Care Executive Group Forum held yesterday in Fort Lauderdale that illustrates payers' focus on driving higher consumer engagement at a critical time in healthcare reform.  Ninety-four percent of responding attendees believe that social networking technology, or social media, is a critical tool for driving consumer engagement.  Fifty-six percent believe it is a must-have.  And consumer engagement is a top five priority at the CEO level according to 61 percent of the attendees.

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"The results demonstrate that with 2014 and health insurance exchanges not far over the horizon, it's understandable that payer executives are very focused on solutions to increase consumer engagement," said Jeff Cohen, co-founder and vice president of product strategy at WellTok.

But the survey results and discussions at the conference revealed that the industry is uncertain about how to take advantage of social networking technology to achieve its goals.  Seventy-eight percent of attendees' companies have Facebook pages and 57 percent employ a Twitter account.  But, only 22 percent reported having any of their social activities tied back to the health plan's wellness programs.

"Applying social networking technology, such as CafeWell™, as a component of wellness programs is quickly proving to drive dramatic engagement improvement," added Cohen.  "Customer results have demonstrated 22 percentage point increases in consumers' positive brand opinions along with significant improvements in member health behavior, such as 48% exercising more often and 29% losing weight."

About CafeWell™ and WellTok®, Inc.
CafeWell is a social health network that makes getting better connected to your health and fitness more fun and more rewarding.  CafeWell provides one stop for consumers' health, wellness and fitness -- including social networking; advice from experts, peers and veteran professional athletes; fun health challenges with family members and co-workers; and reliable health and fitness information.  Through CafeWell, sponsors can offer rewards and incentives to promote activity and health improvement.  Users control the degree to which their identity is shared, with complete anonymity as the default.  To learn more about CafeWell, visit www.cafewell.com.

WellTok is pioneering Social Health Management™ (SMH), the complete social networking solution for healthcare population managers.  WellTok's SHM suite provides a complete solution, including the industry's most engaging social health network, CafeWell, broad member and group analytics, and integration with healthcare payers and providers' corporate systems and MLR requirements.  WellTok, Inc. is headquartered in Denver, Colo.  http://www.welltok.com

Media Contact:
Brad Samson
720-222-9490 x427
[email protected]

SOURCE WellTok, Inc.