While traditional wellness programs have good intentions, they’re simply not enough anymore. Trying to engage users in their own health is important, but these programs often lack personalization and, consequently, longevity.
Over time, employees engage less and less because the programs cannot treat them as an individual. Wellness programs are typically adopted by employees who are already relatively healthy and who are committed to investing in their health. They’re also often not the ones driving up claims costs and they aren’t the ones who really need help.
It’s time for employers to take wellness to the next level by instituting condition management programs, which focus on a specific group of employees who sit between at-risk and sick — the people who make up 62% of healthcare spend. These program help resolve healthcare gaps for these at-risk employees by providing the right resources at the right time.
One of the largest healthcare cost drivers for employers is metabolic syndrome, which is a combination of risk factors — from elevated waist circumference, elevated high blood pressure and high triglycerides, to low HDL cholesterol and impaired fasting glucose — that increase the likelihood of costly chronic conditions like diabetes, heart disease and cancer. Metabolic syndrome afflicts 33% of the working adults. If steps are not taken to address metabolic syndrome, it can result in catastrophic health claims.
If you can identify these individuals within your organization, metabolic syndrome can be reversed before it’s too late. This happens by finding a targeted solution for this high-risk segment of your employee population and one that ensures consistent engagement to drive real outcomes.
What’s missing in traditional wellness programs is dynamic and personalized engagement at an individual level. They typically follow an approved curriculum that is static and encourages members — no matter who they are or what their health goals are — to follow certain steps in a particular order.
The problem is, it’s incredibly hard and personal to make changes to lifestyle habits. For example, someone may love beer and pizza. If she starts a wellness program that pushes her to reduce carbs and alcohol intake, does she believe that beer and pizza are forever eliminated? Can someone who has multiple jobs, a family, and numerous obligations outside of work realistically commit to 30-minute workouts five days a week?
Small habit changes can lead to larger lifestyle changes. Instead of eliminating pizza, perhaps a person starts making cauliflower crust pizza at home instead of regularly ordering delivery. Or, she can work on going for a 10-minute walk every other day, rather than jumping straight to a 30-minute cardio workout.
A lack of personalized wellness is what causes people to disengage. Engagement might be high to start, but more than likely, it will dip over time.
There must be a general acknowledgement that creating healthy behaviors is hard to do and that it should surround the individual, personalized to their unique circumstance. Wellness programs succeed in providing employees with an education on healthy habits, but won’t necessarily encourage them to make the small daily decisions that help to form those habits. By focusing on the individual and his or her experience, meeting them where they are and accommodating their current lifestyle, you can prevent disengagement.
Condition management programs are more personalized and offer varied methods of communication. For example, some people may benefit from daily text conversations with a health coach, while others would prefer to speak on the phone with their coach once per week. Some may like written educational content, while others prefer video.
A good condition management program includes guidance on nutrition, exercise, sleep and stress management, but how those areas are prioritized should depend on the individual. Employees may not be ready for or even need programs that focus on exercise or nutrition. The biggest contributors to their condition might instead be related how they handle stress or getting enough sleep, for instance.
Behavior change is incredibly personal, and employers must understand this to ensure that employees are able to find health success. By shifting from general wellness management to condition management, employers can help at-risk employees find the best path forward on their journey to a healthier life.
Traditional wellness programs are not the wrong path, they simply don’t go far enough. Helping people is about altering behavior — personalizing and making it easy for people to understand and use is fundamental. Positive outcomes will achieve savings, and help employees be happy, healthy and engaged.
