Quit Wasting My Healthcare

A Risk with Health Risk Assessments

When I have met recently with employers, wellness companies and companies that perform biometric testing, the first thing that comes to mind is–this information would be very helpful for their doctor AND if they don’t have a doctor, then they need to get one and take this information to him or her.  Knowing that a person has elevated cholesterol, blood sugar or blood pressure is a trigger to have that person see a doctor.  They may have genetically high cholesterol, a condition called familial hypercholestrolemia that needs medication treatment.  They may have diabetes and need to be on medication.  They may have high blood pressure that has already started to cause kidney damage and need to be on medication.

I have seen too many instances were people had information about one of these conditions and thought they could treat it adequately with diet and exercise–or worse, they go on the internet and read that they can fix their cholesterol with Cheerios or Vitamin C.  Meanwhile, their high cholesterol, diabetes and hypertension are damaging their arteries and causing a heart attack or stroke.  Don’t get me wrong, diet and exercise are an important part of the overall treatment plan, but they need to be in conjunction with appropriate medication therapy when indicated.

So the flow should look like this: (1) Health Risk Assessment and Biometric Screen, (2) Follow up with a healthcare provider (3) Wellness Program initiatives along with medical therapy that is coordinated with a healthcare provider.

The position for my company, Compass, is to provide a case manager-based, “medical home” for the employee to provide access, clinical and financial coordination that takes the information from the health risk assessment and biometric screening and translates it into better employee health and lower claim costs.

The health risk assessment and biometric screening may be the first step in creating a “vision” for the employer’s health plan, but as I read in a recent email: “Vision without execution is hallucination.”