Onsite Wellness vs. All-Digital Wellness
Jesse Hercules, President & CEO Extracon Science LLC
How to run a better employee wellness program by not doing anything onsite.
What’s a Digital Wellness Program?
Imagine a wellness program that can reach all your
employees – wherever they live and work. From your office workers
at HQ to your remote workers in their homes and on the road. Without doing anything
onsite. Whether you have 100 employees or 100,000.
Now, imagine that wellness program also includes
everything needed to be effective:
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Annual Biometric Screenings
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Incentives for Participation and Outcomes
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Physician Integration
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Biometric Follow-Up
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Apps & Devices
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Fun and Social Lifestyle Programs
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Face-to-Face Health Coaching
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Aggregate reporting
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Health Education & Content
That’s a Digital Wellness Program. Employers of all
sizes are successfully running these programs today.
What Problems Does It Solve?
A Digital Wellness Program can solve a number of problems
for employers:
Employees Left Out: In many organizations, the
wellness program is seen as a perk for the office workers or those at
headquarters. Workers in the field or at remote sites feel left out.
Onsite Screenings are Limited : Onsite screenings
aren’t coupled to diagnosis, treatment or medical follow-up. They don’t cover
many of the USPSTF recommendations for prevention.
Fitness Centers are Limited: Spending more time at
the worksite to go to the fitness center doesn’t fit with family schedules.
And tracking fitness center attendance misses all the activity employees do on
their own time – in their own neighborhoods.
Onsite is a Lot of Work: Managing onsite events, programs
and facilities requires a lot of time, effort and budget.
The PCP is left out: The most important person in
the wellness equation is the Employee’s Primary Care Physician. Going digital
lets you include the physician for comprehensive prevention and medical
follow-up of biometrics.
Who Should Consider A Digital Wellness Program?
Originally, onsite wellness programs were the only choice –
and only large, single-site employers had a wellness program.
Today, organizations have a choice about what kind of
wellness program will work best for them. Organizations that should consider a
Digital Wellness Program include:
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Employers with multiple worksites or smaller worksites that
aren’t large enough to support onsite facilities and events.
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Organizations with employees who work remotely, travel
frequently for business, or work from home.
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Organizations that have tried the onsite wellness model and have
not achieved the results they were looking for.
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Employers that are struggling to engage their younger
employees and tech-savvy employees in the wellness program.
Because of the advantages of today’s Digital Wellness
Programs, we see them as an upgrade over the traditional onsite program – a
compelling alternative for almost any self-insured employer.
Why Now is the Time
The smartphone revolution has changed the landscape
for employee wellness programs. This year, 85% of employees with health
insurance own and carry a smartphone.
That means that accurate data on physical activity, weight
and lifestyle are available - without the employer needing to buy or support
any new devices. Smartphones are also changing Health Coaching – letting the
coach and client talk “face to face”, using a video call.
The Affordable Care Act changed the way primary care
doctors practice medicine. It established a standard Annual Wellness Visit
where the doctor and patient work together to get the patient up to date on all
the USPSTF prevention recommendations.
It’s now easy to include the employee’s primary care doctor
in the wellness program. Health plans, doctors and patients are all on the
same page about what needs to be done, and how it is billed and paid for.
The future is here: Employers are successfully
running Digital Wellness Programs today. Watch
our webinar including a case study.
How to Go Digital – Fitness & Lifestyle
Going digital means you’re using smartphone technology to
track physical activity, weight, nutrition and other lifestyle habits.
Smartphones have an accelerometer sensor built in – the same
kind of sensor that’s found in wearable step-tracking devices. In
addition, a clever App will use the dual cameras on the smartphone to track
weight as well.
You’ll want to combine accurate App data with engaging
and social Team Challenge programs. These programs offer the same kind of
group support as an onsite fitness class or fitness center – but available 24/7
from any location.
The best practice is to use an App that’s part of your
overall wellness portal – not forcing participants to go find a consumer
app, get a new ID and Password, and keep it in synch with the wellness program.
We recommend against buying wearable fitness trackers
for your employees. Employees already own and pay for a smartphone
– use the device they already have.
Learn more in our eBook and Webinar: Apps vs. Devices in Employee Wellness.
Advantages of Digital – Fitness & Lifestyle
Be Active Anywhere: Employees can be active in their
own neighborhoods, in the city park, or during an out-of-town trip. They don’t
have to be at the worksite, or at a fitness center. They don’t have to bring a
second set of clothes to work or exercise in front of their co-workers.
Be Active Anytime: Employees can be active whenever
it’s convenient for them – on the weekends, in the morning, or in the evening.
They don’t have to tie their exercise schedule to their commuting schedule.
Better Data: You’re collecting data on how active
people are – not just how many times they swipe their badge at the fitness
center. You’re not missing all that great activity employees do when they’re
not at your fitness center.
Better Incentives: You can offer incentives for
those who are getting enough activity, or making progress on their BMI. In
other words, reward results rather than just showing up.
And because you’re using accurate data, you can finally make
your lifestyle incentives big enough to change behavior.
How to Go Digital – for Coaching
Going digital means your participants and their coaches
work face-to-face – on a smartphone or tablet.
Participants can choose the Coach that they want to work
with, and schedule their appointment online at a time that works for
them. The scheduler sends a link to their phone, and when they click the link
it opens the video call.
Video calling can be secure and HIPAA compliant.
This same technology is used for telemedicine today, with hundreds of thousands
of doctor visits occurring via smartphone this year.
Participants feel empowered when they
choose their coach and schedule their appointment. It’s the
opposite of being interrupted by an inbound phone call.
Advantages of Digital – for Coaching
Face to face communication is richer and more impactful
than a disconnected voice on the phone. And traditional onsite coaching is
expensive, and not convenient for many employees. They are reluctant to have
these conversations at work.
Using the smartphone or tablet for a video “face to face”
coaching session gives you the richness of an in-person session with the
convenience, privacy and low cost of a telephone call.
More than 40 years of research in communication
theory has shown the value of face to face communication. A famous 1972 study
showed that only 7% of the impact of a conversation was because of the words
themselves. 38% was voice and tone.
But 55% of the impact was from
facial expression and body language.
So if you’re voice-only telephonic-only, you’re missing half
the conversation.
How to Go Digital – Biometrics & Prevention
Going digital means the wellness program sends employees
to their own primary care doctor for an Annual Wellness Visit instead
of holding an onsite screening.
Instead of trying to substitute a screening for a doctor
visit, the wellness program is building the right kind of doctor/patient
relationship that focuses on prevention.
Employees will bring an Annual Visit Form to their
wellness visit. The doctors’ office fills out the form an FAXes it to the
wellness vendor.
This form asks about biometric levels, whether the
patient is up to date on the USPSTF prevention recommendations, and
whether the patient can engage in the physical activity and/or weight loss recommended
for most people.
If the person needs treatment and follow-up for
biometrics, or has prevention gaps to close, the doctor notes it on the
form.
This is a process that works for doctors and patients. Across
thousands of participants this year, 98% of doctors faxed in the completed
forms on the first try. Most of the rest were resolved after one phone call
from the participant.
How to Go Digital – Medical Followup
Going Digital means the wellness program keeps working
with the employee’s doctor throughout the year – until all the prevention
gaps are closed and all biometric issues are treated and resolved.
Followup Visits – Biometrics: When the patient goes
to their followup visit after treating a biometric issue, they bring a Follow-Up
Form. This form lets the doctor indicate that the participant has been treated
and re-tested, and the condition is now under control.
Followup Visits – Preventive Services: When the
patient goes to a specialist to close a prevention gap – such as a mammogram or
colonoscopy – they bring a Follow-Up Form. This lets the doctor indicate the
prevention gap was closed.
Incentives for Prevention and Biometrics: The
wellness program can offer an incentive for participants who are up to date on
prevention – or who close those gaps during the year. The wellness program can
have an incentive for those whose biometrics were under control initially – or
after treatment and followup.
Instead of an incentive for completing a screening or
talking to a coach, the incentive goes to participants who work with their
doctor and fix the problem.
Advantages of Digital – Biometrics & Prevention
The Annual Wellness Visit combines screening with
diagnosis and treatment. So if there’s a problem with biometrics, the
participant walks out with a prescription that will fix the problem. You can’t
get that at an on-site screening!
The Annual Wellness Visit covers everything recommended
for prevention – not just the short list of things you can do at a
screening. Common gaps like a tetanus or flu vaccine can be completed at the
Wellness Visit.
Going digital means you can track and incentivize medical
follow-up. Instead of hoping participants will schedule an appointment
with their doctor to resolve their blood pressure or get their colonoscopy –
you are tracking what happens and rewarding those who work with their doctors.
Going digital means you don’t have to run any onsite
events. There’s no need to disrupt operations at your hospital, school,
factory, or other workplace. Participants can schedule their visit for the day
and time that works for them. You can do much more with your wellness budget
if you’re not using most of it to pay for onsite screenings.
Summary: Onsite Wellness vs. All-Digital
The smartphone revolution and the ACA have
changed the landscape for lifestyle programs, prevention and primary care. Now
Digital Wellness Programs can be better than their onsite counterparts.
Digital Wellness Programs use the smartphones in
employees’ pockets to accurately measure physical activity, weight and
lifestyle. They combine accurate data with engaging programs and significant
incentives to create results.
Digital Wellness Programs send employees to their primary
care doctor for an Annual Wellness Visit - to collect biometrics and
identify prevention gaps. They also collect data from Follow-Up Visits and
offer incentives to make sure biometric problems are resolved and prevention
gaps are closed.
Digital Wellness Programs are the best opportunity
for organizations to improve physical activity and lifestyle, get biometric
problems resolved, and make sure prevention gaps are closed. It’s your path
to a better program.
Some Questions You Might Ask Yourself
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Do I have worksites that don’t fit the traditional onsite
model? Do I have remote workers who aren’t at a traditional job site?
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Is my program appealing to younger workers and
technology-savvy employees?
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Are there employees at my organization who are “left out” of
the wellness program because of their work location or schedule?
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Can my employees and health coaches see each other face-to-face?
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Is my physical activity program based on validated, accurate
data? Or just based on attendance and self-report?
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Am I doing onsite biometric screenings today? Do I know
if the problems found at the screening were resolved with a doctor?
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How many of my employees are up to date on all the prevention recommendations?
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