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The study by Baiker et al entitled Workplace Wellness Programs Can Generate Savings(1) looked at 36 peer-reviewed studies and found that the average return on investment (ROI) for health care costs was 3.27 for companies that employed wellness programs. So for every dollar invested in these programs, the company’s saw a return of more than $3.

But wait there’s more. This study also looked at absenteeism, where there was additional savings: an average ROI of 2.73.

As more research is being done, it’s becoming clear that appropriately developed wellness or prevention programs can have a profound impact on a company’s medical and productivity costs. It’s all about the “value of health.” This study shows we need to look beyond the direct medical costs to the large amount also spent through lost productivity. Only by recognizing both areas we can identify the true value of good health.

In fact, our Vice Chairman at U.S. Preventive Medicine, Ron Loeppke, MD ,and others have long been challenging us all to look beyond the medical costs to the complete costs of poor health. As can be seen in the slide below, which he developed from studies (2) he and others published, 70% of the costs associated with poor health were found in the productivity areas, while only 30% were medical costs. These productivity areas -- absenteeism, being away from work and presenteeism ( being less productive while at work) – should concern all employers. As we seek to sell our goods and services locally, nationally and even globally, the effects of a non-productive workforce threaten a company’s competitiveness.

DALLAS, TX and FAYETTEVILLE, AR (February 24, 2010) — U.S. Preventive Medicine® and Washington Regional Medical Center, together with Arkansas Occupational Health Clinic and Kids for Health, today introduced an initiative to deliver preventive health care services to northwest Arkansas. This community-wide wellness initiative aims to save lives and money by keeping Arkansans healthy and treating chronic illnesses before they progress.

Five diseases cause 70 percent of all U.S. deaths annually—heart disease, cancer, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and diabetes. Arkansans suffer from chronic diseases at a rate higher than the national average. Adopting healthy behaviors, like avoiding smoking, exercising, eating well and obtaining necessary health screenings, significantly lowers the risk for developing chronic disease.

Bill Bradley, President and CEO of Washington Regional, said, “While Washington Regional is best known for providing high quality medical treatments, keeping people healthy is just as important as treating disease. By partnering with U.S. Preventive Medicine, Washington Regional can expand its community outreach and help the people of northwest Arkansas live longer, healthier lives.

The program will be offered to Washington Regional employees beginning today. Washington Regional and the Arkansas Occupational Health Clinic will also begin offering the program to businesses throughout Northwest Arkansas. Additionally, Kids for Health will partner with U.S. Preventive Medicine to offer The Prevention Plan for Kids™ a specially-designed children’s program focused on reducing childhood obesity, Type II diabetes, depression and heart disease. The children’s program is currently in development and scheduled for release later this year.

“Everyone—from a small child to a large corporation and even an entire country—can benefit from preventive health care,” said Christopher Fey, chairman and CEO of U.S. Preventive Medicine. “Implementing preventive medicine nationwide would save our country $1.1 trillion annually by 2023 and reduce chronic disease cases by 40 million. By promoting preventive health care for individuals, families and businesses, Arkansas can lead the nation toward a culture of physical and fiscal health.”

View the entire kickoff program including keynote speech by Governor Tommy Thompson

Thorpe, K. (2005). The Rise In Health Care Spending And What To Do About It. Health Affairs (6), 1436-1445.
Thorpe, K., Florence, C., Howard, D., & Joski, P. (2004). The Impact of Obesity in Rising Medical Spending. Health Affairs .
World Health Organization. (2003). Preventing Chronic Diseases: A Vital Investment. Geneva: WHO.

From The Desk Of Fred Goldstein: If The Time For Prevention Has Come, Health Reform Must Follow

With all of the talk over the past few months about Health Reform, some very good ideas were lost in the shuffle. We all know of Ben Franklin’s statement “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”, but have we really applied that to health care? Prevention in health care is an idea whose time has come , yet we allocate roughly 4% of our total health spend to it. There is clearly much more we can do as a country, employer and yes ourselves.
Through this blog we hope to touch on ideas that are relevant to all of these areas and others; such as how you can keep yourself healthy, how companies can develop a healthier, more productive workforce and lower their total cost of health, and what can be done by all of us as a society. There is much to do and really not much time, in fact the statistics are rather staggering, but more on that in the next post.

The Importance of Prevention in 2010

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Against a backdrop of upheaval and debate in the health care industry, a paradigm shift is quietly taking place—the transformation from a reactive, treatment-centric health care system to a proactive approach focused on prevention. Regardless of the outcome of any legislative debate, the American ingenuity that brought us airplanes and artificial hearts is steadily uncovering ways to help people live longer, healthier lives.

The global preventive health care movement is based on a simple premise—saving lives and money by keeping people healthy and treating chronic illnesses before they progress. It represents an entirely new way of thinking, centered on preserving health rather than merely treating disease. Today’s preventive health care programs strive to reconnect patients with health care providers for advice and encouragement at every stage of the prevention continuum—not just when they are sick. Based on the clinical science of preventive medicine, these health management programs move beyond simple wellness to identify an individual’s top health risks and recommend specific actions to avert those risks; detect diseases in the earliest stages when treatments are more effective; and slow or reverse the progression of disease.

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