Health risk assessments (HRAs) and
screenings (measuring health risks
associated with your company’s health care costs) are not only valuable for
employers, but for employees as well.
“For employers, understanding health
risk is vital to targeting their limited health
care dollars to get the biggest health
improvement impact possible,” says Pamela Peele, Ph.D., vice president of health
economics for UPMC Health Plan.
Smart Business talked to Peele about the
respective roles of employers and employees in health care expenditures.
What is the value of doing HRAs or biometric
screenings?
The cost of bad health for employers is
more than just paying for medical procedures — it extends to lost productivity and
absenteeism. Further, a growing body of
literature is showing a correlation between
some health conditions, such as depression, and higher rates of job-related
injuries.
An HRA gives employers the opportunity
to view the distribution and severity of
health risk factors among their employees.
This provides an employer-specific measure of health risk, rather than an estimate.
For employees, the HRA is an opportunity to understand their health status and to
compare their reported health status and
health risk against an age/sex-matched
comparison group (national benchmarks).
HRAs can also inform employees about
how small changes to their current lifestyle
can impact their potential for developing
overt disease. Members can retake the
HRA as often as they like and use it to track
improvements.
Who sees the information and how is it used?
When HRAs are conducted through a
trusted third party, such as UPMC Health
Plan, they are completely separated and
isolated from the employer. The employer
never sees any individual information. We
have numerous processes in place to
ensure that private information stays private.
All members who fill out an HRA have
the option of requesting that they not be
contacted. But if members wish, their
information can be reviewed by a health
professional and they may be referred for
consultation to a health coach and/or a
health care manager.
Does this violate an employee’s privacy?
No. Employee information is completely
private. Employers have absolutely no
access to any individual employee information. An HRA questionnaire is a safe
place for employees to review their own
health risks and learn what they can do to
mitigate those risks.
How does all this matter to employees and
their employers?
Understanding what health risks are
present in their work force can help
employers direct their limited health care
dollars toward reducing those risks, with
the objective of improving the quality of
life for their employees — and increasing
attendance and productivity.
HRAs are road maps for employers. For
example, employers with a high percentage of employees who are smokers might want to help their employees quit the habit.
How to approach that objective will
depend on how ready their employees are
to quit smoking.
For employees, HRAs are also road maps
to better health. They provide information
to help members take better care of themselves and to enjoy a higher level of health
and a potentially more active lifestyle.
How accurate and realistic are assessments
of risk conducted in the workplace?
The literature is robust with the correlation between certain biometric values
(such as high blood pressure, high glucose
and high LDL, and devastating health outcomes like kidney failure, blindness, stroke
and heart attack). Workplace biometric
screenings are the perfect opportunity for
employees to easily get their own biometric values and have a discussion with a
health coach on what these numbers
mean, as well as what actions they might
want to take. In our experience with work-place screenings, employees have given
high marks to the experience.
What are the overall issues of HRAs in terms
of HIPAA?
HRAs contain self-reported personal
health information and are subject to the
full coverage of HIPAA regulations protecting personal health information.
What type of corporate infrastructure is best
utilized to accommodate the HRA process
and to ensure fair execution?
Support and involvement of senior management in programs to increase the health
and welfare of employees is important for
engaging employees in the process. An
HRA can serve as both the initial step for
an employer toward this goal and as an
ongoing part of a robust corporate culture
of health.
PAMELA PEELE, Ph.D., is vice president, health economics
for UPMC Health Plan. Reach her at [email protected] or
(412) 454-7952.
