ROL: An organization’s success relies on ensuring that a company’s workforce is healthy and productive. Absenteeism, lost productivity and poor work performance by employees can negatively impact a company’s bottom line. Research validates chronic health conditions and illnesses contribute to increased medical claims, a costly problem for many companies. Medical expenditures combined with lost productivity can total up to 75% of an employers total expenditures. Poor health behaviors and lifestyles that
result in chronic disease and illness has increased employer health care expenses, at a rate outpacing inflation. Lack of medication adherence costs the American health care system an estimated 100 billion dollars annually. Estimates of patients improperly taking prescription medications for chronic health conditions as prescribed are near 50%.
High quality health coaching has been demonstrated to provide positive behavioral outcomes. Health coaching provides an innovative method for building personal capacity to adopt healthier behaviors and lifestyles that lead to better outcomes, and long term maintenance of new behaviors.
Implications:
An overall improvement in weight management was observed with a reduction in obesity based on BMI. Management of hypertension improved, with both weight loss and increased medication adherence. A significant number of participants effectively reduced their risk of cardiac disease by effectively managing their diet, losing weight, stopping smoking, and monitoring physical activity levels to reduce cholesterol. The end result of medical savings for this employer by both having healthier employees and reduced expenditures for chronic disease will continue to have an impact for years.