Did you know that 40% of premature deaths in the United States are caused by preventable lifestyle habits? In fact, according to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the U.S. spent $2 trillion dollars on healthcare in 2004 alone - and most organizations have yet to implement a health promotion strategy that works.
Health is a critical strategy for enhancing Human Capital. A healthy workforce is less costly and more productive; thus, it's clear we need a defined method and a clear perception of wellness in the workplace. As organizations face growing challenges, such as meeting the demands of and providing support for an aging working population, a worksite wellness strategy becomes increasingly more important. It is essential that any organization dedicated to preserving and enhancing Human Capital and effectively managing economic investments adapt a measurable strategy today.
Implement a Program that Works
In 2003, Hewitt Associates reported that 93% of companies offer some kind of Health Promotion Programming. The prevalence of worksite health programs continues to increase; however, a majority of programming is not comprehensive and much too passive to yield significant, lasting results. It is obvious that education-based programming is not enough and that organizations must move toward a strategy that assesses and addresses systemic health needs. More than 300 peer-reviewed studies indicate that well designed programs improve employees' behaviors and health knowledge, which, in turn, improves the underlying economic burdens associated with poor health. At an optimum level, Worksite Health Promotion programs include a comprehensive focus, well integrated design, strong economic analysis, and an evaluation strategy to support employee health as a necessary asset for a highly productive work environment.
Take a Business Approach to Wellness
It's important to design health promotion programs which bring newer Population Health Management strategies to drive a higher return on investment. For instance, a worksite program model should be driven by the application of a Health and Productivity Management (HPM) based solution, which emphasizes organizational integration, strong communication systems and refined intervention tactics. The mission should be to foster an environment among numerous disciplines to encourage the pursuit of wellness.
The simple fact is that Health Promotion needs more of a proactive approach. This includes the implementation of well designed incentives, tailored interventions, prevention-centric programming and an approach that applies an opt-out program verses an opt-in program. Keep in mind, the power of integrated efforts is tremendous. Unified administrative structures have higher utilization, greater economic return and often a much broader and collective look at health related metrics. The systems, principles, policies, procedures and practices of an organization should be in place to improve the health status of employees collectively.
Use Metrics to Increase Wellness
Health and Productivity Measurements can provide valuable information to quantify the economic opportunities, establish baseline metrics, support benefit decisions, monitor trends and detect changes, and quantify the value of health improvements. The design, collection and analysis of metrics can be complex, but are of significant importance. Knowledge of the economics of employee health is essential to create programming that has a strong economic focus.
As a Health Promotion program is developed, consider the measurement of 'presenteeism' - or lost productivity due to acute or chronic health conditions that reduce employees' abilities to function adequately even when present. Presenteeism is increasingly described as a health-related indirect cost or the 'hidden cost' of poor health.
Research has shown that presenteeism accounts for an estimated 60% of the total cost of poor health on an organization. The total cost includes medical and pharmacy costs, absenteeism and the use of short- and long-term disability. These statistics undoubtedly create a new perspective on society's concerns related to health care costs and redirect them to focus on productivity losses. Although the financial burden is hard to measure because of its detachment from insurance increases and other direct costs, it helps create a comprehensive picture of the overall burden associated with poor health.
Embrace Technology
Technology is a necessary tool for Health Promotion as it can maximize communication, help apply tailored interventions and messages, maximize staff time, increase participation, gather and track data, and assist in customizing systems.
Health Risk Appraisals (HRAs) are health questionnaires conducted annually that contain questions which employees answer about health habits, health status, histories, preferences and readiness for change. They provide a valuable aggregate report to assess the health of the population over time and help formulate priorities for intervention and programming. Further data collection on preseteeism, absenteeism and medical claims can be very valuable, particularly when reviewing ROI and assessing the initial wellness status of the population.
Make Wellness Work
It has been clearly documented that properly managed worksite wellness program can have a significant impact on improving employee health, which has obvious economic gains and other benefits, including improved productivity, reduced absence from work, increased retention and improved morale.
If your organization hasn't already implemented an optimal level Health Promotion program, be sure to encourage such measures. Consider a business approach to employee wellness that focuses on prevention strategies, tailored interventions, economic benefits, strong communication systems and technology to effectively manage the overall wellness of the population. A well planned program today can truly help keep the doctor away - and costs at bay.
