February 12, 2010
Defining Wellness
In an article soon to be published in Population Health Management, written by Cyndy Nayer, Jan Berger, M.D. and Jack Mahoney, M.D. (all of the Center for Health Value Innovation – see reference under our “Resources” tab on this Web site), the results of a qualitative study to attempt to find a common definition for “wellness” among employers and quantify any correlating reduction in health costs through wellness programs are described.
A category of employers was identified, “innovators”, and surveyed. The survey results were compared with the results of the same survey administered to attendees at a seminar. Their definitions of wellness were compared and their health care cost trends likewise compared. The results showed that the “innovators” had a more expansive definition of wellness and that their cost trend lines were roughly 50% lower than national trends. For the full article, please go to “Population Health Management”.
The data just continues to build in support of wellness programs and on-site services (which typically are heavily wellness oriented). Somewhere all this data and information has been lost in the debate over health reform in Washington, however.
Written by: Dorothea Taylor
Filed Under: Research
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