Workplace wellness may cause overtesting on employees

Health insurance and workplace wellness are just some factors that make a job more enticing to an employee. However, workplace wellness programs are now being questioned with the costs of healthcare rising.

USA Today reports that 50 percent of large employers who offer health benefits have wellness programs that ask employees to submit to medical tests called "biometrics" that may include a doctor's consultation, lab, or workplace health fair. These biometrics were created to find out early on any potential health risks and fend off any costly problems, but at the same time, these practices may cause a culture of overtesting, yielding a higher cost of health care.

The NPR reports that current research on such biometrics are mixed--studies are not sure whether these workplace wellness programs truly save healthcare money.

The RAND Corporation, a nonprofit institution that helps improve policy and decision making through research and analysis, recently published a study claiming that "wellness programs are having little if any immediate effects on the amount employers spend on health care."

However, RAND also claims that programs targeted at managing specific diseases such as diabetes are effective. In fact, programs can also assist employees in smoking cessation, exercise, and weight loss.

Screening tests may also provide inaccurate results, causing people to take unnecessary medication. However, for those who yield correct results, these tests provide valuable information that enable an employee to take a proactive step towards health improvement.

According to Bravo Wellness president and CEO, "We can set individual goals for each person. The hope is that the program will get people to proactively see their physicians to manage their health risks. Yes, this will, hopefully, mean more prescription drug utilization and office visits, but fewer heart attacks and cancers and strokes."

Another issue is cholesterol screening, as several medical groups have different recommendations on the best age to begin testing their blood. Due to the vital role cholesterol plays in heart disease and the like, some medical authorities may recommend medication too early.

According to USA today, the American Heart Association recommends testing every 4 to 6 years beginning age 20, while the US Preventive Services Task Force recommends starting at an older age, unless the person already has other risk factors for heart disease. The CDC reports that as much as 26.6 million adults have been diagnosed with heart disease, and that 12.4 million physician visits are those with heart disease as primary diagnosis. For ailments such as heart disease, wellness programs would be beneficial to an employee, especially if he or she has multiple risks.