Most people interact with the health care system in various ways throughout the year. They can see a primary care physician, fill prescriptions, visit a specialist, access behavioral health support, or receive routine dental care. Although these interactions may occur in different settings, they are all part of the same health journey.
However, often, the healthcare system is not designed to reflect this reality. People receive care based on individual needs and symptoms, while providers often focus on specific conditions or specialties. The result can be a disjointed experience that forces people to connect the dots, navigate next steps, and make complex healthcare decisions on their own.
This fragmentation can make it harder to identify early health risks, connect people to recommended care, and address manageable health issues before they become more serious and costly.
A holistic approach to health begins with looking at the whole person. It recognizes that every interaction with the healthcare system can be about better understanding someone’s needs and guiding them to the right care at the right time. It includes familiar points such as primary care visits, interactions with pharmacies, behavioral care, preventive screenings and dental care that are not always considered as part of a broader health journey.
In this Q&A, we speak with Morgan Kendrick, Executive Vice President and President of Health Business Benefits at Elevance Health, and Julie Mitchell, MD, MS, Regional Vice President and Chief Clinical Officer at Elevance Health, to discuss why health care is evolving toward a more connected approach, how each can support health care coordination, improve outcomes, and address rising health care costs.
Q: Why is the healthcare industry moving towards a more holistic and holistic approach?
Morgan Kendrick: Whole Health is about creating a healthcare experience that is organized around the person, not around individual services or points of care.
A person managing diabetes does not think of themselves as a person at the pharmacy, another person at the dentist, or anyone else when they see a primary care physician. It is a journey of life and one of health.
This means that we need to look at the various factors and influences that shape human health and find ways to connect experiences. This means helping people understand their options, connecting them to the right care and support, and acting sooner before a manageable health problem becomes more serious and costly.
As we make healthcare more connected, we create more opportunities to support prevention, improve outcomes, and help avoid costly interventions down the road.
Dr. Julie Mitchell: From a clinical point of view, all health begins with the recognition that the body does not work in separate systems. What happens in one part of the body can affect another, so providing effective care requires a holistic view of a person’s entire physical, behavioral, and oral health, not just isolated conditions or encounters.
A holistic health approach helps make care more coordinated, responsive and proactive over time.
When information flows more efficiently across care settings, it becomes easier to identify risks earlier, connect people to appropriate care, and reduce the need for more complex and expensive care over time.
Q: Where is fragmentation most evident for consumers and employers?
Morgan Kendrick: For consumers, distribution often appears as homework. People are asked to connect the dots themselves: review the same information, find out which benefits apply, decide where to go, and understand how one part of their care relates to another.
Dispersion can also lead to duplicate services, delays in care, and missed opportunities for prevention, all of which can increase costs over time and make it more difficult to address health needs.
Employers also feel this disconnect. They invest in benefits to support their workforce, but these benefits are more effective when they work together rather than as separate offerings that employees must navigate on their own.
The opportunity is to make the system easier and more functional. When the experience is better connected, people can get support faster and employers can get more value from the benefits they already offer.
Q: What are some aspects of health that are often overlooked when people think about their overall health?
Dr. Julie Mitchell: Any interaction in the field of health can contribute to a complete understanding of human health.
When health care providers have a complete view of a person’s health, they are better positioned to identify potential concerns earlier, support prevention, and help people take the appropriate steps in their care.
Oral health is a reminder that different aspects of health are interconnected. Conditions such as Diabetes can affect oral healthjust as oral health can affect the management of chronic conditions. But the broader lesson is that health does not exist in silos.
A dental appointment is not a substitute for medical care. On the contrary, it can serve as another opportunity to reinforce preventive habits. identify potential concernsand encourage appropriate follow-up when necessary. When these touchpoints are seen as part of the wider health journey, we create more opportunities to support people earlier and more effectively.
Q: What could a more connected experience look like for members?
Morgan Kendrick: It should feel simpler, not more complicated. Consider someone who is managing a chronic condition and may benefit from additional support. In a more connected model, that person can be identified for an available benefit and encouraged to use it through digital tools, rather than discovering it on their own.
The goal is to make the transactions that are already happening more useful and help members understand the best next step. When people connect to preventive services early and understand how the different parts of their health are related to each other, there is a greater opportunity to address concerns before they become more serious and expensive to treat.
The same principle applies to all health care practices. The more effectively we can connect information, care and support around the individual, the easier it will be to help people access the right care and track their health needs.
Dr. Julie Mitchell: This earlier connection can make a real difference clinically. When someone gets the right support sooner, there is a better chance of addressing a health need before it becomes complicated or stabilizing a chronic condition.
A more relevant experience may include helping someone understand and access preventive benefits, identify unmet health care needs, encourage follow-up screenings, or connect individuals to additional support based on their health needs.
Dental care shows how this broader approach can work. The relationship between diabetes and oral health is a good example of how different aspects of health affect each other. People with diabetes are more likely oral health problemswhile untreated oral health issues can make chronic conditions more difficult to manage.
But the bigger goal is to help people understand how the different aspects of their health are connected and to ensure they have access to the support they need.
When healthcare touchpoints work together rather than independently, each interaction becomes more meaningful. This helps support prevention, improve outcomes, and reduce the likelihood of serious health problems over time.
Q: How can a holistic health approach help address rising health care costs?
Dr. Julie Mitchell: A wellness approach helps improve health outcomes while addressing rising health care costs by recognizing that both are influenced by interrelated factors.
When care is fragmented, opportunities for early intervention can be missed. A person may delay a recommended diagnosis, struggle to manage a chronic condition, or visit the emergency department for a problem that could have been treated in a less expensive setting. A more coordinated approach can help identify needs more quickly, support timely follow-up, and connect people to the right care before health problems become more serious, helping to improve outcomes while reducing the likelihood of hospitalization, intensive care, and avoidable health care costs.
The evolution of oral health is an example of how healthcare is moving away from traditional silos and toward a more coordinated experience. For example, helping people with diabetes get preventive dental care can reduce the risk of painful oral infections that can otherwise lead to emergency department visits, missed work, and disruptions to daily life. Coordinated education and support can also help people better manage their blood sugar levels when they have an illness or infection, reducing the risk of additional complications and health care costs.
But this opportunity goes far beyond dental care. It combines physical health, behavioral health, medication, preventive care, and community support in ways that are easier for people to navigate.
When health care practices are more connected, people are better positioned to engage in preventive care, effectively manage chronic conditions, and avoid unnecessary complications. Over time, it can support better health outcomes and sustainable cost of care.
Q: What will it take to make a more integrated, holistic health experience the norm?
Morgan Kendrick: It starts with creating a medical experience around the person rather than individual services.
People don’t have to take apart the system themselves. They need to understand where to go, what support is available and what’s coming next. This requires a better coordination of the various moments that shape human health.
Technology and data can support this work, but the ultimate goal is very human: make it easier to navigate, help people get care earlier, and improve health outcomes over time.
The whole health approach is not about any one benefit, program or partnership. It’s about making every touch point work harder for the person.
Better health care for the future depends not only on managing health care costs, but also on keeping people healthy and avoiding unnecessary care as much as possible.
Read more in elevationhealth.com
