Your Employees Need Your Whole Heart

Our careers have a big impact on our health. They influence what we eat and when, how well we sleep, the quality of medical care we receive and, of course, our risk of heart disease.

For those who survive a heart attack, post-event care and rehabilitation can quickly become one of the most expensive medical incidents — more expensive, on average, than cancer, stroke and transplant surgery. Yet 80% of coronary artery disease is preventable.

When that figure is presented alongside the cost of heart disease in terms of both medical expenditures and lost productivity — almost $1 billion per day — it underscores how important it is for business owners and human resource professionals to seriously consider adding wellness programs and heart disease prevention efforts to their employee benefit packages.

The Texas Center for Preventive Cardiology can help you build a wellness program that reduces real and potential costs, improves employee morale, increases worker retention and productivity, and enhances your employment brand.

The Process Begins with Knowledge

Wellness initiatives are far less effective as one-size-fits-all programs. The individual risk for heart disease can vary widely among groups. Even those generally acknowledged to be at high risk for heart disease — smokers, the obese, and so on — benefit from understanding the reality of the progression of their disease. The first step in creating a comprehensive wellness program is accurate testing.

At the Texas Center for Preventive Cardiology, we examine each individual from a range of perspectives. After an initial assessment of a patient’s lifestyle, environmental and inherited risk factors, we can select from a range of available tests, choosing the ones that best reflect the needs of that patient.

We may develop lipid and metabolic profiles or test for inflammation. We might perform non-invasive endothelial testing; we are the first cardiology center in Austin to offer this innovative, FDA-approved option. We can also assess employees’ sleep patterns and how well they respond to stress, tests that confer a wide range of benefits to employers. (The cost of sleep apnea has been estimated at $149.6 billion.)

These tests give us a clear picture of each employee’s risk factors and allow us to build customized nutrition and lifestyle protocols designed to accommodate an individual’s needs and preferences.

It’s not just good for your employees. Preventive care is about improving every aspect of life, which can produce real financial returns for your company, improve the work environment and enhance your brand.

It’s how we integrate the practice of medicine with the practice of business.

Some Case Studies

  • After the introduction of the MD Anderson Cancer Center workers’ compensation and injury care unit, lost work days declined by 80% and modified-duty days by 64% over six years, saving a total of $1.5 million and decreasing workers’ comp insurance premiums by 50%.
  • H-E-B reported a reduction of approximately $1,500 in health care claims per participant in its workplace wellness program and estimates that it sees six dollars in return for every one dollar spent moving just 10% of its employees to low-risk health status.
  • SAS saved $1.41 on health plans for every dollar it spent operating its on-site health center, not including gained productivity resulting from time not spent travelling to and from off-campus appointments.
  • Johnson & Johnson projected a return on investment of $1.88 to $3.92 for every dollar spent on their Live for Life program, with annual savings of $565 per employee.
  • Baylor Health Care System realized a return of $2.44 for every dollar spent on wellness.
  • The Rand Corp.’s analysis estimated an overall ROI of $1.50, or a return of $1.50 for every dollar that the employer invested in the entire wellness program. The return for disease management was $3.80, while the return for the lifestyle management component was just $0.50 for every dollar invested.

Return On An Investment in Health

  • Annual medical claim costs declined by $1,421 per participant in a random sample of employees that received cardiac rehabilitation and exercise training.
  • A 2009 study of 50,000 workers at 10 employers demonstrated that the costs of lost productivity are 2.3 times higher than the cost of drugs and medical services.
  • Wellness programs significantly impact the employment brand: 69% report a strong impact on job satisfaction and 63% report that the program factors into their decision to stay with their current employer. Half rate a company that offers these programs as very attractive.
  • Companies with highly effective wellness programs have a demonstrate a reduction in annual health care costs of more than $1,600 per employee.
  • Organizations with highly effective wellness programs reported obesity rates 25% lower and diabetes rates almost 50% lower than those with less effective programs.