Have you ever tried to speak with your teenagers about saving money?
My initial attempt to engage my 12-year-old in a meaningful discussion about money was doomed to fail from the start, so I decided to first educate myself by reading a few investment books tailored to teenagers.
In one of those books, I found the results of a study explicitly stating that having a savings account as a young teenager will substantially increase your child's chances of saving money.
The concept of making the right choices today to benefit tomorrow certainly applies to a wide range of subjects, good health being one of them. Nevertheless, the majority of the U.S. population fails to engage in this critical area of their lives. Many take only a passive approach by delegating the responsibility for their own health to medical professionals.
To further the financial analogy, what could be the equivalent of a savings account related to your employee's health?
An electronic health record is a tool that allows employees to conveniently track their health status, one that they can take with them when going to a doctor's visit, and one that gives them the opportunity to learn about preventative measures.
Dow Chemical, a company that is well-known for its pioneering role in managing employee health, announced the global implementation of electronic health records last year. Interested to learn more about the drivers behind this decision and the expected benefits, I reached out to Dow Chemical's Global Director of Health Services, Catherine Baase, MD.
Dr. Baase explained that the new EHR replaces and expands upon Dow's former health surveillance system by automatically identifying which employees are due for visits, notifying the employee by e-mail and allowing them to self-schedule their appointment.
Indeed, Dow's long-term vision is focused on occupational health, as one would expect from one of the largest manufacturing companies in the world. However, I suspected that there was more behind the decision than just the automation of occupational health to drive compliance.
Dr. Baase clarified that the implementation of a global EHR was seen as an enabler to drive better health outcomes and to support Dow's strategy of encouraging employees to take greater responsibility in their own care while supporting them during the process.
Now employees at Dow are in control of their medical information and can access and download their health data - which consist of a health risk assessment, biometric data, information from onsite health clinic visits, as well as lab and radiology testing results - to share with their primary care physicians.
Despite such comprehensive medical information, Dow has made a conscious decision not to include medical claims data in the EHR. Dr. Baase explained that the medical services provided by Dow, including the EHR, are not intended to compete with the insurance-based health care system. Dow knows it's important for employees maintain a medical home outside the company for a number of reasons.
Strong foundation
Implemented and used correctly, an EHR can lay a strong foundation for employees to gain awareness of their health status. Seeing the development of biometric key indicators like blood pressure, cholesterol levels and body mass index over time is not only educational, it can be an eye-opening experience.
Combined with evidence-based guidelines and recommended care options, an EHR does indeed become a powerful enabler for health with the employee in the driver seat.
According to David Demers, director of planning and product development at Marathon Health (a provider of onsite health solutions), today's EHRs offer features that go well beyond what was possible in the past. EHRs now offer:
* Tools and resources that enable employees to become more engaged in managing their own health, rather than functioning simply as a receptacle for data.
* Information about treatment options based on the health risks and conditions identified during screening and routine treatment.
* Prompts to the patient (and the provider) based on care gap analysis and other considerations.
* Other tools that can include knowledge couplers that, once completed by the employee - before or after the clinic visit - can provide insights and greatly enhance the clinician's ability to deliver effective and efficient evidence-based medicine.
Considering the available features, support functions and options available through EHRs, a more fitting analogy would be comparing an EHR to the services of a Certified Financial Planner - a person who can develop a comprehensive strategy to achieve future financial security. Any company interested in giving their employees all the tools and support they need to manage their own health should consider EHRs as a viable option.
Contributing Editor Michael Puck, SPHR, is the benefits innovation leader for a global defense, security and aerospace company, author of "The High Road - Total Health Care Transformation Program" and founder of
