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The health assessment is the gateway to comprehensive population health management. More than 83 percent of companies say they're using a health assessment in 2008 to measure health status in employees, according to a recent survey conducted by Watson Wyatt and the National Business Group on Health — an 18 percent increase over 2007.

The aggregate data gleaned from the health assessment provides a roadmap for employers and health plans to deliver health promotion and disease management interventions to targeted individuals — with the goal of improving clinical and financial outcomes. In Health Assessments for Reduced Risk and Real ROI: Innovations, Interventions and Incentives, industry experts describe the rudiments of a well-executed health risk assessment (HRA) program — one that is science-based, accompanied by an assessment of participant motivation and followed by a broad spectrum of health promotion and wellness programs.

This 40-page report is based on contributions from Wes Alles, Ph.D., director of the Stanford University Prevention Research Center; Yann Meunier, M.D., health improvement manager, Stanford School of Medicine Health Improvement Program and Gary Smithson, M.D., M.B.A., WorldDoc.

The experts at Stanford University — the birthplace of the Stanford Health and Lifestyle Assessment (SHALA)— examine current trends and business beliefs surrounding HRAs. Dr. Alles, whose 20-year research career has been focused on health promotion, preventive medicine and behavior modification, describes the evolution of HRAs.

Stanford colleague Dr. Meunier, who applies Prevention Research Center findings to health promotion offerings for Stanford University employees, describes the motivation and change assessments that set the stage for an effective HRA program and proposes interventions to round out the HRA effort and generate real ROI.

From WorldDoc, Dr. Smithson describes new sources of data inputs for HRAs from the realms of biometrics and telemedicine and the enhanced responsibilities of the patient and physician in executing post-HRA interventions. He connects the HRA to care management and quality improvement and suggests reimbursement models that fit the enlarged physician role. He also provides a new view of evaluating the financial impact of population health management that goes beyond traditional ROI measurement.

This 40-page report provides details on:

• Three levels of participant stratification and appropriate interventions for each;
• Identifying and closing care gaps;
• Post-HRA interventions to promote health;
• Analyzing aggregate HRA data for program development and maximum ROI;
• The payoffs of prevention — compelling arguments for workplace wellness initiatives;
• HRA use with and without incentives — what's working;
• The "dose" response — the effect of participation on the entire population;
• Enhancing HRAs through telemedicine, biometrics and PHRs;
• Leveraging the physician-patient relationship to improve HRA success;
• Feeding the fields of the HRA with outside data sources;
• The new metrics in ROI measurement — productivity, disability, workers’ compensation, lost work days and presenteeism;
• and much more.

Table of Contents

• New Developments and Enhancements in HRAs
  • Renewed Interest in Wellness Programs
  • Stratification and Levels of Prevention
  • Ensuring Motivation and Participation
  • The High Costs of High-Risk Employees
  • The ROI is Real
• Looking Ahead to Innovative Interventions
  • Foundations of Worksite Wellness Success
  • Innovative Inputs & Outputs
  • Taking Care of Care Gaps
  • Including the PCP in the Discussion
  • Health Productivity Could Lead to Higher Revenues
  • Beyond ROI: New Measurements of Financial Impact
• Q&A: Ask the Experts
  • HRAs for the Elderly: Interventions, Functionality & Medications
  • Effective Incentives for Program Participation
  • Getting Physicians Onboard
  • Capturing Low Literacy and Diverse Populations
  • How Many Is Too Many Care Gap Alerts
  • Prevention Leads to Cost Savings
  • ROIs for the Medicare Population
  • A Summary of ROIs
• Glossary
• For More Information
• About the Authors