Andi Weiss – “Education is Just a Piece of the Puzzle”

“Health coaching changes the way we look at patients and their challenges. It puts patients in the driver’s seat, allows them to set their own agenda, and leads to sustained behavior change.”

Andi works at MicroMass Communications, Inc., a company that applies health behavior principles to solve business challenges for pharmaceutical clients.

Andi has been with MicroMass since 2008, and serves as Lead Behaviorist, Partnerships and Advocacy. In this role, she uses her excellent communication skills to build and foster relationships with outside healthcare organizations, universities, and pharmaceutical clients.

MicroMass does not follow traditional marketing strategies. Instead, they use evidence-based behavioral approaches to get to the source of what’s driving or preventing behavior change for both patients and healthcare providers. As part of its behavioral foundation, MicroMass uses evidence-based techniques to shift attitudes, build skills, and change behavior.

“Education is just one piece of the puzzle. But, education alone is not enough to change behavior. Just telling a person what to do, like adding exercise to their routine, is not sufficient to overcome barriers and build the skills they need.”

MicroMass uses health coaching principles to improve the dialogue between patients and their healthcare providers. For example, MicroMass encourages patients and healthcare providers to use open-ended questions to uncover patient needs and work together to set meaningful goals. MicroMass clients consider health coaching as an integral part of their program because of the impact it has on health outcomes.

Andi is constantly trying to incorporate new strategies into her work and improve the skills of others. She recently completed an advanced course on motivational interviewing and helped teach a seminar on health coaching and adherence at University of North Carolina at Greensboro.