Who are the health experts involved in the program?
There are many wellness programs. Some bring in an outside vendor or consultant. In some cases, this could potentially compete with an individual’s physician. AlliantSense does not. The doctor/patient relationship is worth protecting. By design, and the way it works, our program pushes people back to their physician for guidance and advice that is specific and directed to the individual patient.
That’s important, because most people don’t drastically change their lifestyle unless there is some kind of trigger. For example, someone who has been smoking for 20 years won’t decide to quit unless this person or someone close to him or her has a ‘health incident’ — it’s the proverbial walk-up call. For that message to be heard, it needs to come from the family physician. The family physician is one of the most trusted resources for health guidance and information.
How do you get people on board?
Implementation is not the tough part. The tough aspect is the education — making people aware of the program and keeping it ongoing. That is probably the hardest part of any wellness program. It can be the same as joining a health club in January. The health club is built around the fact that 70 percent of the people are only going to use it 20 to 30 times a year. You need to give your employees a reason to participate. The education should be ongoing on a monthly and quarterly basis. Healthy competition among peers is one of the greatest ways to get things moving. Get creative. We’ve had companies measure and publicize the points in their break room. They formed a ‘Tons of Fun’ club, to keep track of the most points for losing weight. Wellness programs can become a social phenomenon.
It’s also helping us with brand loyalty. People start looking for it; they log into their personal health record, or PHR, for status. Some look for additional ways to earn points. They know they can get points for running in a race, so they try to find one happening this weekend. It helps reinforce an active lifestyle even outside of work.
What does a company need to know before getting started?
Many companies add wellness programs, and are charged for it. That’s something that sets us apart, because it’s part of what Alliant offers to every one of our insured groups. We’re banking on the fact that, if we get enough people involved, it will perpetuate healthy behavior among the people we cover, which will keep the pricing down.
Other alternatives can have employers bringing in a vendor to ‘take specimens’ and measure employee health status with ‘lifestyle questionnaires.’ Once they have that information, they have to do something with it — but what? You can tell your employees to go out and lose weight, exercise and change their eating habits for better nutrition, but somebody has to keep encouraging them. We found incentives work.
And the relationship between a patient and his or her personal physician is a ‘bond.’ AlliantSense ‘pushes’ individuals back to their personal physician. It is important for Alliant members to practice a healthy lifestyle and prevent illness as best they can. It is ultimately up to the individual.
Albert Ertel is the COO of Alliant Health Plans. Reach him at (706) 629-8848 or [email protected].
