Employee absenteeism contributes to
millions of dollars in lost production
each year. Employees who suffer from chronic illnesses, such as diabetes
and asthma, can benefit from disease management programs that provide information and tips to members with chronic illnesses to ensure they have information to
help them stay healthy and keep working.
“It is the right thing to do,” says Bruce
Niebylski, M.D., associate vice president,
medical affairs, with Priority Health. “You
are helping people stay healthy and helping
treat diseases. Education is much more efficient for both the employee and employer
than only prescribing a medication.”
Smart Business spoke with Niebylski
about disease management programs and
the benefits they provide.
What purpose do disease management programs serve for employees?
Disease management programs were
originally designed to care for four different
ailments: diabetes, asthma, maternal child
diseases and congestive heart failure. Such
conditions were selected because studies
showed patients suffering from these diseases were not receiving the treatment
needed. Employer groups suggested implementing disease management programs to
help employees follow regimens, attend
regular doctor visits, and find qualified doctors in their area, and for any extra care
they required.
Today, many more diseases have been
added to disease management programs.
Patients suffering from such diseases often
have a hard time following a schedule of
regular doctor appointments and their prescription drugs are often very costly.
Disease management programs have been
implemented to help employees deal with
such issues and receive the appropriate
care for treating their condition.
How can disease management programs
benefit an employer’s bottom line?
Diabetes accounts for 5 percent of the
health care population and half of the
money we spend on health care is spent on
diabetics. If such a disease can be managed, there will be a reduction in additional costs
for side effects associated with diabetes
such as stroke, dialysis and system failure.
Many disease management programs are
showing a positive return on investment.
Statistics show that for every $1 spent to
pay for disease management there are $4 in
savings. Over the years, there has been controversy regarding whether disease management programs make treatment more
efficient and help reduce costs.
It is difficult to track cost savings with
these programs. Financial analysis can be
used to show the return on investment for
such programs. Disease management programs are very effective for patients with
high intensity diseases such as asthma and
congestive heart failure. These fluctuating
diseases cause patients to visit hospitals
regularly. These programs are designed to
keep patients healthier, to increase their
quality of life and keep them out of the hospital for additional costly treatments.
What if employees feel disease management
programs are too intrusive?
This is a real concern that disease management programs have faced. Because of that resistance, it is important to separate
employees’ private information from the
employer. Employers only receive information on which diseases are present in the
employee population but it is not disclosed
which employee has a certain disease.
Employers need this information so they
can ensure they are selecting the correct
health plans for their employees’ needs in
the future.
Some employers offer their employees all
the resources needed to properly treat
their disease but are faced with resistance
in participation. For many programs, there
is only a 10 to 30 percent uptake in disease
management programs. This means that
for every 10 people who are invited to participate in the disease management program, you only get one to three takers. It
may be beneficial for employers to use
incentives to get employees enrolled in a
disease management program.
Are there on-site practices employers can
implement to help employees prevent/manage chronic illnesses?
On-site programs had been offered by
many disease management companies. It
was found employees were hesitant to participate because they didn’t want their
employer to figure out they had a disease
and have that information affect their
employment status. Now on-site programs
simply include general screenings where
the results are only presented to the
employee in general information sessions.
Employers can create a wellness atmosphere for employees through simple things
like decorating stairwells and pumping in
music so employees can walk the stairs on
their lunch hour or break. Employers can
offer healthy foods in vending machines.
Some employers allow employees to leave
early a few days a week if they belong to a
gym.
BRUCE NIEBYLSKI, M.D., is associate vice president, medical affairs with Priority Health. Reach him at (248) 324-2763 or
[email protected].
