Archive for the ‘Wellness’ Category

Reducing Employee Medical Cost with Telemedicine

Monday, March 25th, 2013

Telemedicine is receiving a great amount of attention as an effective means to lower employee health care costs, both from having to take time off work and for office visit bills.   Employers who are looking for ways to help employees save time and money on health care would do well to look into telemedicine as a valuable employee benefit.  At the same time, these employers have an opportunity to lower their own business costs for employee absences and medical costs paid by the employer.

What is Telemedicine?

Telemedicine, according to the American Telemedicine Association, is the use of telecommunications technology for medical, diagnostic, monitoring and therapeutic purposes when distance separates the users. Telemedicine makes use of computer and communications technology to capture and transmit text, audio and video information as a substitute for face-to-face contact between patient and doctor.

Telemedicine Options

Telemedicine options can vary from simply using a validated 24/7 telephone service to get a medical doctor’s advice on things like sore throats or influenza or non-narcotic prescriptions, to a real-time mode, where live video  and audio allows the physician, patient, and specialist to communicate interactively.   A third option, called the store-and-forward mode, is used when parties are not available at the same time, enabling medical information, including video, to be emailed or placed on a server for the specialist to view.

With real-time consultation, the physician can do an examination with the use of ENT medical peripherals,[1] so that one’s condition can be viewed by both the physician and the specialist.  This enables the specialist to diagnose and recommend the proper treatment immediately.  This method also provides training for the provider in providing diagnostic, treatment, and follow-up care.

What this does is enable a person to consult a specialist anywhere in the world and not have to travel to the specialist’s office.   This type of medicine can offer huge savings to both employer and employee. Reduction of travel time and the stress of battling one’s way through organizational paperwork and red tape are added benefits that cannot be overlooked.

Americans also like to get medical information online, and many medical providers provide access to helpful medical information that people can research online.   Patients can often get advice from their own physicians through these portals.  Information on specific symptoms may motivate one to obtain treatment sooner.

Successful Monitoring

Telemedicine has been shown to reduce not only the cost of health care, but to provide better care of chronic conditions and fewer or shorter hospital stays.   Self-monitoring/testing devices allow physicians to monitor or test patients at their homes or other places.   Pro-active self monitoring devices for chronic conditions may achieve better disease management success and allow physicians to detect any developing problems.

In Summary

Telemedicine provides a cost effective means to give medical care and access to doctors and specialists that can save both the employer and the employee valuable time and money.

[1] http://www.telemedicine.com/whatis.html Retrieved March 17, 2013

Posted in Employee Benefits, Health & Happiness, Health Insurance Definitions, Medical Cost Trends, Wellness | No Comments »

Value of Worksite Wellness Programs

Thursday, October 27th, 2011

As a business owner, you probably understand how your employees’ health can affect your company’s bottom line.  You may not know, however, how much impact fewer sick days and higher employee morale can have on your cost of labor.

Workplace wellness programs like those offered here at BayPoint Benefits will help your company in these ways:

  1. Reduced Absenteeism.  Healthier employees get sick less, saving costs not only in paid sick leave, but also in the temporary help, re-scheduling time, and lost business resulting from prolonged absence.  A healthy employee will also influence his or her dependents, thus reducing time off needed to care for sick family members.
  2. Improved Productivity.  Healthier employees work longer hours with greater focus. This seems obvious, right? But small improvements make a big difference over time. Just one hour of extra productivity per day adds the equivalent of nearly one full week of work – every month.
  3. Improved Employee Morale and Retention.  Healthier employees are also more loyal. A company-sponsored program sends a message that the your care about your employees’ welfare.

You don’t need a huge upfront investment to get a good ROI on your wellness programs.  For example, one company found that installing a hand sanitizer dispenser in the bathrooms and near doors cut down employee sickness days by 50%.  Not only that, but fewer employees showing up to work sick meant a lower spread of sickness among employees.  Staying healthy reinforces itself.

In another study on company vending machines, swapping junk food for sandwiches and low calorie vegetable and fruit snacks, and replacing sodas with bottled water and milk, significantly improved worker morale and performance by cutting out sugar highs and lows.  The cost to the employer? Nothing, save for a few grumbles from some sweet-toothed employees.

Offering free clinics and screenings proved useful to another business.  A diabetic screening revealed that a significant number of employees were diabetic or pre-diabetic, and encouraged these employees to adopt a healthier diet and life style.  Another tool that employers can use is a subsidized or partially subsidized exercise program.   Smoking cessation programs, in addition to creating a smoke-free company environment, will pay added dividends on an employer’s investment.

A wellness program is also a valuable resource in reducing insurance and medical costs for both employee and employer.  Despite the fact that the U.S. spends more on health care than any other industrialized nation, U.S. citizens are not any healthier; in fact, studies have shown they may be among the unhealthiest people in the world.   Incredibly, preventable chronic illnesses account for approximately 80 percent of illnesses and up to 90 percent of all health care costs.[1]

What this means is that money and pills are not the instant cure – a healthier lifestyle is the answer.  Prevention is the key, and wellness programs are the vehicle to saving on health care costs for both you and your employees.

[1] http://www.wellnessproposals.com/workplace-wellness-programs.htm Retrieved October 27, 2011

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