Wellness Programs : Picking the Right Type of Wellness Program.

Research studies show that untargeted health-promotion campaigns have little long-term impact.
Chronic diseases, which rob individuals and families of their health and happiness, represent major costs to companys in the form of health care and disability costs, lost productivity, and absenteeism.
Health Promotion Programs should address risky behaviors that can help your staff eat healthier, increase their level of exercise, help reduce stress, lower blood pressure and cholesterol, and quit smoking. Wellness programs should focus on helping staff achieve and maintain their optimal health status.

Comprehensive wellness programs focused on changing lifestyle behavior have been shown to yield a $3 to $6 return on investment for each dollar invested. It takes about three to five years after the initial wellness program investment to realize these savings.

Ninety-three percent of U.S. businesses offer some type of health promotion program for their personnel, but is it the right type?

Main Kinds of Health Promotion Programs

Programs focusing on illness management. These wellness programs monitor and treat specific illnesses. Illness management follows the 80/20 rule -  80 percent of healthcare costs are spent on 20 percent of staff.

Illness management is announced to have a $7 to $10 return on investment within a year.  The 20% of personnel requiring the greatest medical expenditures today are ordinarily different 20% who will cause the greatest health expenses a year or two down the road.

Programs focusing on health enhancement and risk management. These health promotion programs focus on lifestyle behavior change, and offer a $3 to $6 return on investment within two to five years, as reported by a 2004 report issued by the National Corporation Group on Health.

It is vital that you note that a $3 to $6 return on an entire worker population produces a higher sum savings than does illness management.

Good Data Drives Good Business Decisions

• Based on more than 120 research, the National Company Group on Health reported that, within five years of wellness program implementation, overall benefit-to-cost ratios (return on investment) of -

• $3.48 in decreased health care costs per dollar invested.

• $5.82 in decrease rates of absenteeism per dollar invested.