In today’s evolving healthcare environment, connection has never been more vital. Connection – the sense of being understood and supported – is what transforms healthcare from a transaction into a true partnership. It’s also the driving force behind a whole health experience, where care is not only comprehensive but also deeply human.
The whole health experience goes beyond traditional care delivery. It brings together physical care, mental and emotional health, and social drivers of health into a seamless journey that addresses the person, not just the disease. Rather than treating individual episodes or symptoms, it supports long-term health through coordination, consistent communication, and compassion.
Redesigning the Care Ecosystem
A connected care model envisions a healthcare system where every stakeholder – care providers, health plans, healthcare facilities, and others – shares the same information and works toward common goals. Unfortunately, many patients today find themselves lost in a fragmented system, navigating multiple appointments, locations, and treatment plans without coordination.
The shift to whole health demands integrated care. That means leveraging platforms that link patient data across providers, payers, as well as pharmacy benefits, enabling real-time collaboration, and reducing duplication of effort. It also requires aligning policies and incentives that support care coordination and shared accountability. With that in mind, Carelon works with care providers to build value-based care arrangements that promote collaboration among providers to enhance care quality and experience.
By building these connections, we can transform isolated health interactions into a continuous care journey that empowers patients and delivers more consistent, higher quality outcomes.
Using Data to Power Personalized Care
Effective connection requires more than good intentions – it demands insight. At the center of this transformation is data: accurate, timely, and securely and appropriately exchanged data that drives decisions and predicts needs. It allows providers to anticipate challenges, personalize care plans, and intervene earlier in a patient’s journey.
That’s why we at Carelon have been building Health OS, a payer-agnostic interoperability platform that connects stakeholders, making it easier for multidisciplinary care teams to collaborate. When physicians, pharmacists, health plans, and other care providers can coordinate treatment more effectively, and avoid redundant or conflicting care, they can deliver higher quality outcomes. Data connectivity also gives consumers easier access to healthcare data that comes from various sources along their healthcare journey – be it their primary provider, specialists, hospitals, or labs.
Chronic conditions such as diabetes offer a compelling example. Affecting more than one in 10 U.S. adults, diabetes requires ongoing management and support. With connected data, health systems can offer targeted interventions that aim to potentially prevent escalation for people with Type 1 diabetes and proactively identify individuals at risk for Type 2 diabetes. This type of predictive and proactive care may help avoid complications, reduce unnecessary procedures, and keep patients healthier for longer.
Reimagining Cancer Care Through Connection
Cancer presents one of the clearest cases for whole health. The disease doesn’t just affect the body – it touches every part of a person’s life, from emotional well-being to financial stability. Yet the journey through diagnosis, treatment, and recovery is often disjointed and overwhelming.
Connected care models are helping change that. Programs like Carelon’s Cancer Care Engagement are designed to create a single, cohesive support system around the patient. Using advanced analytics, these programs identify patients who can benefit from additional support and pair them with Cancer Care Navigators – nurses who serve as a consistent point of contact throughout the care process.
These navigators play a crucial role in demystifying care plans, connecting patients with top-tier providers, and helping them access supportive services like counseling, financial assistance, or nutritional guidance. The result of combining advanced analytics and the human touch of Cancer Care Navigators, along with managing aspects of care such as behavioral health and pharmacy as well as offering palliative care, results in a more coordinated, connected, and compassionate experience for patients who are navigating their difficult journey with cancer.
Paving the Way Forward
As the healthcare landscape continues to change, the need for a connected, whole health approach is only becoming more urgent. Innovation in data connectivity, care navigation, and digital platforms aims to make it possible to build more inclusive and responsive systems.
But technology alone isn’t enough. The future of healthcare depends on our ability to create meaningful relationships within the system—relationships built on trust, transparency, and empathy. Whether it’s enabling seamless communication between providers and health plans or helping patients feel understood and supported, connection is the throughline.
Healthcare should be more than a series of disconnected encounters. It should be a continuous experience grounded in relationships, strengthened by data, and driven by purpose. When we connect the dots across care, we elevate not just the quality of treatment but the experience of health itself.
That is the promise – and power – of delivering a truly connected, whole health experience.
Pete D. Haytaian serves as executive vice president at Elevance Health and president of Carelon
