Employees seek more personal health knowledge

As health evaluations move further center stage – be it via celebrities pushing for cancer screenings or companies including health assessments in wellness programs – it is becoming clear that to take full advantage of the health opportunities available, employees need to know as much as possible about their current health status.

Biometric health data can provide reliable information about risk for chronic conditions, which afflict one out of every two Americans, and account for 80% or more of all health care spending in the U.S, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Consumers, however, know a lot less about their health than they need to, according to new data from HealthMine. Sixty-eight percent say they don’t know their biometric measurements, even though 83% in the same group say they have easy or somewhat easy access to such information.

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“Chronic conditions such as heart disease and diabetes are among the most common, costly, and preventable of all health problems,” says Bryce Williams, CEO and president of HealthMine. “With out-of-pocket costs rising, it’s no surprise that three out of four workers want guidelines and incentives from their employers to help them manage their health. Employers who deliver this support with personal clinical engagement can help bridge the gap for consumers and lower costs.”

In fact, more than three-quarters of those surveyed believe employers should offer some sort of program or guidelines to help with managing health. Even more (80%) think employers should offer some sort of incentive to help with improving health.

Also see: Employees want wellness incentives, despite regulatory uncertainty

“Beyond the cost issue, consumers are struggling to understand their own health information. To lower their burden or even make informed decisions they’ll need personal clinical engagement from plan sponsors,” Williams adds.

To help manage health, the employee wish list includes:

• 88% believe it’s important to have a single login for access to health information.
• 82% want regular updates on their health conditions and health progress from their plan provider.
• 80% want easy access to clinical information and evidence from national associations, leading hospitals, medical studies.
• 80% say it’s important to have concise summaries and simple visual graphics when accessing health information.
• 76% want to easily share their information with health care providers when on the go.