Wellness centers at Work Can Cut Health Care Costs and Improve Employee Health
Wellness centers at Work Can Cut Health Care Costs and Improve Employee Health, according to a new study by Mayo Clinic.
For the study, researchers at Mayo Clinic used data from 3,199 members who were continuously enrolled in their wellness center, the Dan Abraham Healthy Living Center (DAHLC), for three years. They then measured changes in their weight based on their BMI (body mass index)at the beginning of the study and at the end of the study period.
Researchers pulled data from multiple institutional sources: the wellness center attendance database, electronic health records and a health care claims database. They categorized members based on the number of visits they made during the study.
Researchers found that when compared to memebers who visited 1-60 times, members with 181-360 visits were 46 percent more likely to have weight loss. And individuals with the most visits (more than 360) were 72 percent more likely to have weight loss.
Compared with the mean annual cost of $13,267 for 1-60 visits, the cost were significantly less for the other groups: 61-180visits, 181-360 visits, and more than 360 visits had lower costs at $9,538, $9,332 and $8,293, respectively.
According to lead researcher Bijan Borah, the improvement in health and reduction in health care costs are too significant to ignore. He says that workplaces that offer such wellness facilities to their employees can expect similar results.
The study was published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
Category: News
