One of America’s oldest and largest privately held companies leverages BioIQ to rethink its approach to health screening and create a program focused on the employee experience.
The foundation of any effective workplace wellness program should focus on helping employees adopt healthy behaviors. Healthy behaviors lead to reduced health risks, and reduced health risks lead to less chronic disease. When fewer employees experience chronic diseases such as diabetes, and chronic conditions including high blood pressure and elevated cholesterol, employees (and their employers) benefit from fewer healthcare costs.
It’s no secret that taking steps – even small ones – to reduce health risks is important. The New England Journal of Medicine reports that for every one percent drop in total cholesterol, the risk of having a heart attack dropped by two percent to three percent. For every one-point drop in elevated diastolic blood pressure, there is another two percent to three percent drop in heart disease risk.
Low health risks are integral to good health and employer-sponsored programs are an effective way to help individuals reduce their health risks. A study from NCBI provides evidence that wellness program participation was associated with significant risk reduction, particularly among people who participated in more than one program. The study looked at almost 200,000 wellness program participants and showed that 5 of 7 health risks (blood pressure, body weight, cholesterol level, nutrition, physical inactivity, stress and tobacco use) improved after one year.
In 2015, BioIQ managed health testing for the company’s corporate wellness program and a partner organization administered an online Health Risk Assessment (HRA), a survey that asks questions about a participant’s health and lifestyle to evaluate personal risk factors and identify areas for improvement. Participants and their spouses could complete their health screening at a convenient location including onsite events, their physician’s office, or at a local lab.
During the screening, key health numbers were measured, including total cholesterol, HDL, LDL, triglycerides, height, weight, waist circumference, blood pressure and glucose. Real-time results were available, which enabled screening staff to perform an A1C reflex test on individuals with elevated glucose levels and those who were known diabetics. Next, participants were asked to complete a HRA to help provide an overall picture of their health. The company made tablets available at every onsite screening event to make it easy for its manufacturing associates to complete both tasks as part of the same event.
To streamline these events, screening staff leveraged tablets with BioIQ’s mobile app, HealthSync, to simplify workflows and enhance the participant experience. The app simplifies onsite health screenings for clinicians, participants and the sponsoring organization and replaces the need for paper forms. While events at the company’s own health clinic and workplace events were a convenient option for many of the 7,000 registered participants, BioIQ’s platform could seamlessly connect employees to alternative locations to complete their screening, including a nearby lab or at their doctor’s office using a Physician Results Form.
The following year, the company expanded its screening program and BioIQ managed health testing for nearly 8,000 employees and their eligible spouses. The company’s employees appreciated the flexibility in selecting their preferred screening modality and the BioIQ Platform made the experience very simple and easy to navigate. Additionally, the organization integrated its own health clinic with BioIQ’s software, which provided employees with another convenient location to complete their screenings.
Employees appreciated the flexibility in selecting their preferred screening modality and the BioIQ Platform made the experience very simple and easy to navigate.
The company’s 2017 program kicked off in the fall and this time, administrators had access to BioIQ’s Administrative Console. This enabled them to register manufacturing employees – a group that did not frequently use online tools – for onsite appointments, email Physician Results Forms, and track the program’s progress. BioIQ’s platform allows the flexibility to integrate existing wellness partners along with the BioIQ network of partners to create a fully unified wellness program. Staff at onsite events used tablets with the latest version of BioIQ HealthSync and at the company’s own health clinic, the screening staff used the app to facilitate seamless screenings at their location.
BioIQ enables employers of all sizes and industries, from Fortune 500 companies to government organizations, to create engaging wellness programs. To learn more, contact BioIQ at (888) 818-1594 or sales@bioiq.com.