New virtual digestive health support platform available June 1 for all Priority Health commercial members

Beginning June 1, all commercial (group and individual) Priority Health members will have access to a virtual gastrointestinal (GI) health platform through Ayble Health^®. Ayble provides GI-specialized nutrition guidance, behavioral skills training, health coaching and additional care team support to a wide range of digestive health patients. 

Ayble’s providers work hand in hand with local clinicians to provide wraparound support at home in between appointments. Ayble also includes powerful tech tools, including on-demand 24/7 access to GI-specialized behavioral health resources, GI nutrition guidance, a powerful groceries database to make easy choices at the store, a symptom and health tracker and educational resources. 

Ayble serves as an extension/enhancement, not a replacement, to the care patients receive from local providers. Ayble does not serve as a second opinion nor as a competing GI service.

Why is Priority Health making this benefit available to its members?

Digestive diseases impact up to 70 million Americans, roughly twice the number affected by diabetes. We’re offering this benefit as a supplemental resource to our members with digestive diseases who need additional support in between their usual appointments. This benefit fills gaps in care for the full breadth of digestive care, including with GI-trained behavioral health specialists and dietitians.

How does the benefit work?

Priority Health commercial members can sign up for Ayble or be referred by a provider at ayblehealth.com/priorityhealth, where they’ll be onboarded to create a digestive health plan that complements the care they may already be receiving from a local provider. Resources on the Ayble app and site are free, while any virtual provider visits are subject to standard member cost-sharing according to the terms of their plan.

How will Ayble providers communicate and coordinate with local in-person providers?

Ayble is specifically designed to be transparent and collaborative with local providers. Ayble helps patients manage day-to-day digestive health symptoms either while they’re waiting to see a provider for digestive care, or in between regular visits with their existing provider(s).

Ayble’s teams work hand in hand with local providers in a fully coordinated manner and will regularly refer patients back to their in-person provider for routine or emergent care needs. Each referral includes a clinical summary and suggested triage categories, so you can appropriately manage those referrals. A regular clinic-to-clinic touchpoint is also an option, should you wish to interact with Ayble’s teams to accomplish collaborative care goals. Typical referrals back to a patient’s provider may be connected to potential issues with medication adherence or side effects, escalation in symptoms, increased behavioral health concerns, potential needs for procedures like scopes and other scenarios where coordinated care is required.

Patients can choose to share their Ayble data with providers by asking a member of the Ayble team to download their information into a handy PDF, or Ayble can securely send this information directly to providers, upon patient request, via secure HIPAA compliant email, e-fax or other system.

How are prescriptions and tests handled?

Ayble’s care team will collaborate with a local prescribing provider for all pharmacy needs. Ayble providers may order routine tests to guide and customize a patient’s care plans. Results will be shared as part of Ayble’s ongoing collaborative communication with you. 

For patients who are higher-acuity or for whom in-person testing (like stool sampling) or procedures (like colonoscopies) are medically necessary, Ayble refers the member to their current gastroenterologist or to an in-network provider as needed.

What if members don’t have a local gastroenterologist or other necessary providers?

If a member using Ayble doesn’t have a local care team, Ayble will work with the member to find in-network PCPs and specialists, should they need that kind of support.

Will this change anything about GI care provided by non-Ayble providers?

No, all PCPs and specialists, including gastroenterologists, will continue to see Priority Health members as before. Member cost-sharing levels for non-Ayble GI care will not change. Ayble is a supplemental resource for our members with digestive disease, not a replacement for the GI care they receive from our network providers. Ayble collaborates with providers across the country like you to augment, extend and enhance the multidisciplinary care you provide your patients.

How should I use Ayble?

You can use Ayble as a resource when working with Priority Health members and refer those with GI conditions who would benefit from extra support to ayblehealth.com/priorityhealth. We invite you to use our Ayble flyer and our patient portal message template to help refer patients to Ayble.

How do I know if Ayble is appropriate for a patient?

Ayble is designed to help patients manage most digestive health symptoms and diagnosed digestive conditions, for adults 18 years or older. Ayble is well suited to supplement your care plans for patients with IBS, IBD, GERD/reflux, functional bowel issues, chronic constipation, abdominal pain, chronic diarrhea and a wide range of other diagnoses/symptoms.

Ayble’s care serves as a complement to the digestive health care patients already or plan to receive from their local provider team by helping manage day-to-day digestive health symptoms in between visits.

Can I get additional information?

Yes, we have a provider FAQs document with more details about Ayble. If you still have questions after reviewing the document, you can reach out support@ayblehealth.com for further assistance.