Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/135744
Wellness Physicians Heal Themselves How a healthcare system engaged for help wtih it own health. By Dorothy Cain Ochsner Health System is a non-profit multi-specialty healthcare participation and health improvements. Although Ochsner's system compromising eight hospitals and 38 clinics located previous wellness program enabled employees to earn rewards throughout Louisiana. Since 2003, Ochsner had been monitoring for staying active, the program relied on employees manually its rising healthcare costs and the health of its workforce. The recording activities over the course of the year and submitting organization had quickly grown to 10,000 employees after several the tracking logs to Ochsner's wellness staff for approval. new acquisitions post Hurricane Katrina. As Ochsner expanded, it Although this process was administratively feasible with 2,000 became apparent that it needed a more integrated and accessible participants, Ochsner knew it needed a technology-based wellness program to replace the homegrown manual program. With so many entities under its umbrella, Ochsner sought to improve overall employee health and reduce healthcare costs companywide. This was a major strategic initiative, since 8,259 of Ochsner's employees are part of its (self-insured) administrative services only (ASO) group. Ochsner provides a generous premium subsidy to all levels of coverage, employee up to family coverage. As such, engaging employees in taking accountability for their own health in partnership with the company is a top priority. The magic was aligning the medical plan premiums in favor of those who participated in the wellness initiative. program to be prepared for the company's growth. It was also important to be able to track and monitor improvements to overall employee health and ultimately reward those employees who took their health seriously. The second challenge was identifying how to raise employee participation. Historically, Ochsner's wellness program participation rates hovered between 30 and 40 percent. Though this was higher than traditional industry average rates, Ochsner believed ample room for improvement existed. Employee engagement was critical, given the company's goal to lower overall healthcare costs; Ochsner believed more participation would lead to greater reductions. Identifying Challenges To achieve these goals, Ochsner recognized that it had a few important challenges to overcome. First, Ochsner required a The last challenge was determining how to excite employees about more systematic approach to help employees track and measure wellness and then make the programs as far reaching as possible. their physical activity in order to substantiate employee With an open benefits deadline looming, time was of the essence. [52] HRO TODAY MAGAZINE | MAY 2013