Health Screenings
Health risk assessments and biometric screenings are powerful tools that can determine health care plan benefits and wellness programs that will help employees better manage chronic disease risks. These screenings also allow employees to discover and act on health issues. To reap the full benefits of health risk assessments and biometric screenings, these tools should be paired with a clear follow-up plan for at-risk team members.
Employers across the nation have seen impressive results from a comprehensive health risk assessment program. For example, Johnson & Johnson reduced employee medical claims by almost $250 per year per employee over four years after it adopted a company-wide program that required employees to fill out a health risk assessment each year. They also offered benefit credit incentives of up to $500 for employees to take advantage of various wellness programs.
Cone Health Employer Health & Wellness Solutions has the expertise to help organizations administer health risk assessments and biometric screenings and develop action plans that lower health care costs while providing team members with the resources they need to achieve better health.
Health Risk Assessments
Health risk assessments, also known as HRAs, are confidential questionnaires that employees complete. Employers only see aggregated, group information from the questionnaire, not individual results. As a third-party, Cone Health can provide nurses to follow up with any team members who have risk factors that need more testing or care if the employee signs a HIPPA form when completing the HRA.
How an HRA Works
Employers can choose to administer the HRA online, on paper, or using office-based kiosks.
Cone Health uses a highly rated health risk assessment from Applied Health Analytics. The HRA includes questions about the following areas:
- Stress and mental health
- Lifestyle, such as nutrition, exercise, tobacco use, alcohol use, etc.
- Family health history
- The employee’s health history
When the HRA is conducted with biometric screenings, the results can be reviewed with employees by a Cone Health nurse. With the employee’s permission, results can be forwarded to their primary care physician. If an employee does not have a primary care physician, the nurse can assist in a referral. Another option is for employees to receive results of the HRA online.
Biometric Screenings
Biometric screenings measure important factors that can indicate the presence of or risk for chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure. Cone Health Employer Health & Wellness Solutions offers the following biometric screenings:
- Height, weight, and waist circumference
- BMI (basal metabolic index)
- Blood pressure
- A1C ( a measure of blood sugar over time)
- Glucose
- Lipid panel (cholesterol, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein (HDL), and low-density lipoprotein (LDL)).
The bloodwork portion of testing can be a finger stick with nearly immediate results or blood draws that are sent for processing.
Results Reporting and Follow Up
For biometric results obtained the day of the screening, employees can receive a written report along with talking to a nurse about results. For blood sent to a reference lab, the employee receives a written report if all of the results are in normal range. If the results are being forwarded to a primary care physician, the physician’s office will call the employee if the results are out of normal range.
If a company has an on-site employee health clinic, the clinic providers can provide regular follow up for at-risk team members or refer the team member to a wellness coach.
