Quest Software: "Hinge Health Eliminates Barriers to Care and Reduces Costs"

For over 30 years, Quest Software's products have helped organizations streamline IT operations and harden cybersecurity from the inside out. Our enterprise software solutions protect and empower identities, users, applications, and data. 

Quest Software employs 3,200 people worldwide, with around 1,000 in the United States. Approximately half of our workforce consists of software developers. The other half of employees works in functions like sales, marketing, customer service, HR, finance, and IT. The sales team travels regularly to visit customers, while the inside sales group works in a call center environment.

Our company's value-based culture is very focused on wellness. That emphasis carries over to our benefits philosophy. Quest Software views its benefits package as a way to differentiate itself in the labor market, attracting new talent and increasing employee retention.

During the pandemic, MSK pain grew among our workforce and we turned to Hinge Health for help. From the moment we implemented Hinge Health in 2021 until now, we and our employees have been nothing but pleased. 

Quest Software's workforce and benefits challenges

Over the years, Quest Software has made a concerted effort to focus on preventive care coverage. Historically, we held onsite health fairs which included immunizations and health screenings. We paired these events with food trucks to create a festive atmosphere that attracted employees and their families. The result was high levels of employee engagement, as well as lower healthcare costs. 

Before 2020, 65% of our employees globally worked from an office. Like so many other companies, however, Quest Software responded to the COVID-19 pandemic by quickly pivoting to work from home. Our company now supports both remote and in-office work, because we want to hire the best talent, no matter where they are located. However, our leaders are actively trying to attract employees back to the office with fun and healthy activities, such as yoga classes and step challenges. 

Although our MSK claims in the United States were on the rise even before COVID-19, we saw those numbers increase in 2020 as employees began working at home and conducting their own ergonomic assessments with guidance provided through our remote work program. Given our commitment to employee wellness and our focus on costs as a private-equity backed firm, we knew that we needed to take action. 

Hinge Health—a "plug and play" solution that aligns with our culture

Our insurance broker mentioned that Hinge Health would be a good solution to address MSK issues for employees who were working from home. After taking a look, we realized that Hinge Health was something unique. It would be a differentiator for Quest Software's benefit package and it could also have a positive impact on the company's medical claims.

Another advantage of Hinge Health was its easy implementation process. With only two employees responsible for U.S. benefits, we couldn't adopt a solution that would require an excessive amount of time or resources to deploy. 

When the leadership team analyzed the economics and recognized that Hinge Health would be self-funding, the implementation decision became clear. We completed our Hinge Health deployment in 2021. 

We were initially a bit skeptical about whether employees would adopt Hinge Health. However, one byproduct of the pandemic has been broader consumer acceptance of non-traditional forms of care delivery. Quest Software employees were eager to try Hinge Health and many have experienced powerful improvements in their lives. 

Hinge Health makes it so easy for people to get the care they need for MSK pain that may be the result of poor ergonomics or injuries from natural aging. It enables them to keep living their lives without having to navigate the care system. Employees appreciate the alternative approach to getting healthier and stronger which doesn't require a visit to a doctor's office or the stress of finding an orthopedist. Hinge Health offers an easier way to drive positive outcomes. 

Quest Software’s clinical and medical claims outcomes 

To evaluate the impact of Hinge Health on our member population, we analyzed data from January 2022 to January 2023. Overall, we were pleased with the level of program engagement.

Across members, Hinge Health participants averaged 7 to 9 engagements per week. These included 3 therapy sessions each week, 3 to 4 care team interactions each week, and reading 1 to 2 education articles over the 12-week program. 

By participating in the program, each Quest Software member reported on average a 67% reduction in their pain. That’s impressive, since in clinical trials of opioids, the average pain reduction is just 15%.

MSK surgeries have decreased, while employee productivity has increased

Given the decreases in members’ pain, we hoped that they would be less likely to pursue surgical interventions for their MSK conditions.

We were happy to see that after the 12-week intensive phase of the Hinge Health program, there was a 68% reduction in the one-year likelihood of surgery. We are avoiding two out of three MSK surgeries which translates into a 4.8x ROI.

The economic impact of Hinge Health hasn’t come solely from avoided surgeries. We’ve also seen a jump in employee productivity. We’ve experienced an impressive 78% decrease in absenteeism and presenteeism among employees participating in Hinge Health.

We think the statistics are compelling, but we also wanted to share a participant success story to illustrate how Hinge Health is changing lives for the better. I routinely receive messages about the program like this one:

Conclusion

I think many companies buy into the myth that employees don't want to use digital health tools and that creates hesitancy for HR teams. Based on our experience, these solutions actually break down barriers to care. Hinge Health enables us to deliver on our promise of wellness for employees, while reducing medical claims costs.