Empowering Women’s Healthcare Choices

Tools and resources are vital in helping women navigate healthcare decisions for themselves and their families.

Women are a powerful force in healthcare — not only through their vital contributions to medicine across history, but also in their everyday lives. Studies show that 94% of women make healthcare decisions for themselves and 59% make decisions for others.

That is why this Women’s History Month, we want to celebrate and support powerhouse women in healthcare: You.

Navigating healthcare can at times seem complex. But every day, female decisionmakers work to arm themselves with education and resources. You need as much information as possible to make the best healthcare choices for yourself and your family members or dependents.

The Sydney app is a great place to start. It helps you manage your healthcare 24/7, wherever you are. With it, you can access information about your plan benefits, claims filed, deductible, and more. In addition, you can find useful information about timely topics, such as COVID-19. Along with Sydney, Anthem provides a variety of tools to make your healthcare experience easier. Learn about just a few of resources you can use—this list is not comprehensive, but explores some great suggestions:

Finding care

One of the key decisions women make for themselves, their children, or others is where to go for care. This can include a primary care doctor, specialist, or facility for a variety of procedures. Finding the right care at the right cost is paramount. Anthem has created a Find Care tool to make that decision easier. Members can log in to find doctors or other medical professionals in their network and nearby. Nonmembers can also use the tool as a guest to explore directories.

The SmartShopper program offers another way to compare prices, and even includes rewards for using the system to book an appointment at a lower-cost provider.

Finding the right primary care doctor is important, as this person should be a strong partner for you and your family in navigating your health long-term. If you are wondering what factors to consider, check out our easy how-to guide on choosing a physician.

Navigating mental health

Women have to manage so many things — most juggling some combination of a career, caretaking of children or family members, home life, community involvement, and social engagement. It is important to devote time to your own mental health as well. If you are healthy and sharp, you can continue to balance other responsibilities.

Resources abound to help you take control of your mental health and make the body-mind connection. The Anthem blog contains articles that can help you manage your own mental health, or provide care, guidance, and support to a loved one. For example, you can learn to recognize signs that you or a loved one may need help as well as where to seek that aid. And you can read about tips to support your child’s mental and emotional health.

For those dealing with depression, particularly in teens, Shine Light on Depression can help. It is a website created by diverse organizations to amplify conversation around teen depression and suicide. It includes family workshops and other programs or resources.

Free resources

The Anthem blog is a free healthcare resource covering a wide variety of topics. It is easy to search the archive for articles on common health concerns including stress, fitness and well-being, sleep, and dozens of other topics.

You can also sort these by categories. Articles under Health Insurance Basics can help you learn more about health insurance to make the most of your benefits. Your Healthcare is focused on steps you can take to be proactive, better your health, and receive great care. And Living Healthy is full of articles to improve overall well-being, fitness, and nutrition.

In addition, finding resources that speak to your community can be incredibly helpful in making the right healthcare decisions. Anthem has partnered with national organizations to create programs aimed at the Black and Latino communities. Take Action for Health focuses on eliminating health disparities for the Black community, with input from collaborators like 100 Black Men of America and the National Urban League. Its sister site, Taking Action Por Salud works to improve the health and well-being of Latinos and Latinas. The National Hispanic Medical Association and Beckman Research Institute of City of Hope are two organizations involved in this program.

Being the healthcare decisionmaker for yourself or your loved ones is a significant task, but women handle it with grace every day. Having tools and resources can make that job a little easier — resulting in healthier individuals and families everywhere.