The success of an organization’s employee health management program – and its impact on medical plan costs – is linked to how much support it receives from senior management, according to the nonprofit Health Enhancement Research Organization.
HERO analyzed data from more than 450 employers using its Best Practice Scorecard, developed by HERO and Mercer, a consulting, outsourcing and investment services company. The survey rates an organization’s EHM program based on the extent to which it incorporates best practices.
The scorecard was developed with input from the Health Project’s C. Everett Koop National Health Awards criteria, the WELCOA Well Workplace Awards criteria (platinum level), the Partnership for Prevention’s Health Management Initiative Assessment and the Department of Health and Human Services’ Partnership for Healthy Workforce 2010 criteria.
The scorecard asks questions in six areas – strategic planning, leadership engagement, program level management, programs offered, engagement methods and measurement and evaluation – that help determine the effectiveness of an organization's employee health and wellness programs.
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Those scoring high in the areas of leadership and cultural support had the highest levels of employee participation in their EHMs. According to the survey, 59 percent, on average, of employees at companies with strong leadership support were likely to complete a health risk assessment and 53 percent were more likely to take advantage of biometric screenings. By comparison, 41 percent of employees were likely to complete health risk assessments and 38 percent were likely to take a biometric screening in those companies reporting low leadership participation.
More participation translates into improvements in health risks and reductions in healthcare spending. Sixty-six percent of those companies that scored high in leadership support for their EHMs reported improvements in health risks (25 percent reported significant improvements), while 26 percent of companies with low or no support reported improvements.
Companies with high leadership support were 10 times more likely than companies with low or no support to report that their EHMs had a substantial impact on their medical costs. Thirty percent of companies with high leadership support reported saving more in medical claims than they spent on the EHMs, compared to 11 percent of average-scorers and 2 percent of low scorers.
To further test the scorecard, the Scorecard Partner Program was launched last year as a pilot program with four organizations participating – Capital BlueCross, Healthways, StayWell Health Management and the Mayo Clinic Health Solutions. The pilot program wraps this month, at which time the partner program will be open to other interested organizations.
The pilot program allowed each participant to enter its information into a database that each could access so everyone could compare all scorecard responses.
Mayo Clinic Health Solutions and StayWell Health Management said clients that chose to use the scorecard were pleased with the results.
“This tool helps us objectively measure outcomes,” said Kurt Hobbs, a health management strategies consultant with the Mayo Clinic’s Health Solutions. “It helps organizations to really gauge how their current program design measures against best practice standards.”
They can see where they are doing well and what things could be improved and they can compare themselves to the other organizations using the tool, he said.
“The HERO Scorecard is among the first free tools to standardize a comprehensive inventory of the most promising health management strategies and practices. The potential of the scorecard grows with each organization’s response not only in the richness of the data at face value, but also in our ability to systematically examine the best practices that drive the best outcomes” said Jessica Grossmeier, PhD, StayWell’s director of research.
"The high level of completion (of those clients who participated) speaks to the value of the tools and employers' interest in best practices and what it takes to have a successful program,” added Sue Willette, StayWell’s chief growth officer. “Consulting with our clients helps define opportunities for creating truly superior programs that engage their populations in the kind of healthy behaviors that deliver bottom-line results."