As tools for stratifying likely candidates for care management and barometers of future healthcare costs, health risk assessments/appraisals (HRAs) are data gold mines for health plans and employers. Why then, do so many healthcare organizations still struggle to attain desired HRA completion rates?

Proven strategies for raising participation in HRA initiatives are highlighted in Health Risk Assessments: From Participation to Payoffs in Risk Reduction and Health Outcomes, a 30-page special report based on a 2006 audio conference sponsored by the Healthcare Intelligence Network (HIN). In this report, HIN's contributing authors discuss using the HRA as a tool to correlate lifestyle with lab results, build integrated systems, develop communications that create a corporate culture of wellness and provide incentives that have been proven to increase participation.

The results are more effective interventions, reduced costs and a healthier workforce.

Featured in this special report are contributions from Dr. Raj Lakhanpal, president and CEO of HealthAtoZ, and Lynette Phillips, director of population health support for Healthways. This report also includes an analysis of a recent HIN survey on how the healthcare industry is using HRAs to identify risk before they become costly realities.

Table of Contents

• An Overview of Wellness Models
  • Personal Health Score and Incentives
  • Program Communication and Positioning
  • Measuring Outcomes
  • Online Tools to Facilitate a Wellness Program
• The Importance of an HRA
  • Fostering an Integrated Approach
  • Launch Strategy and Ongoing Communications
  • Impact of Financial Incentives
• How the Healthcare Industry Identifies Risk Before It Becomes Reality
  • Tools for All Trades
  • Incentives Boost Participation
  • Mining Data for ROI
  • Lessons Learned and Moving Forward
• Q&A: Ask the Experts
  • Demographics of HRA Respondents
  • Legal Concerns Over Outcome-based Incentives
  • Incentives to Encourage Spousal Participation
  • Accessing Appropriate Intervention Based on Risk
  • The Most Effective Incentives
  • Motivating Healthy Participants to Take the HRA
  • Mandatory HRA Completion
  • Establishing Incentives Based on Subjective Data
  • Optimum HRA Completion Time
  • Linking Health Improvements with Benefits Incentives
  • Updating the HRA
  • Monitoring HRA Updates
  • Managing a Dynamic Population
  • Meetings in a Box
  • Promoting the HRA
  • Cost and Frequency of Tests for Smokers
  • Financing the HRA
  • Population-Specific HRAs
  • HRA Enhancements
• Glossary
• For More Information
• About the Authors