According to a piece by J. Nicholas Hoover in Information Week: "Fed up with rising health care costs, Intel, Wal-Mart, and others think giving employee digital records will help."

A "warehouse project" of sorts, big companies are working to create massive "data warehouses" that give employees online access to their personal health records. Ultimately, this plan carries a goal of letting employees compare costs and availability of services. It is an intended solution to those aforementioned rising costs, which HR consulting firm Towers Perrin estimates in 2007 as costing employers 58% more and employees 81% more than it did 5 years earlier in 2002.

Explaining this move-ahead, Intel Chairman Craig Barrett said: "Health care is pricing itself out of business." Furthermore, he notes: "If we can use our purchasing power to drive massive adoption of technology and procedures and best known methods which provide better care at lower cost, we ought to get into that debate."

However, plans from Intel and other like-minded companies aren't aiming to stop hospitals and doctors from having their own electronic medical records. And that is not to say that all corporations are onboard for this concept, as Cisco opted to decline Intel's offer, with their VP of Health Care, Dr. Jeff Rideout, explaining: "The people most likely to use the personal health record are those with a chronic condition, so you've got to know your audience."

But Intel stands their ground, believing that information-sharing of consumer-directed health-care "will lead to better care and fewer mistakes." As does President Bush, who recently signed "an executive order forcing health care providers to be more transparent in terms of costs and information on quality of care."

While data privacy and security remain a potential obstacle, along with the ability to transfer records, the key is that healthcare is changing, and in turn, how employees are spending their hard-earnered money will change. Quality is being demanded by all parties involved, ensuring healthcare to become a hot topic for companies to look into for the sake of staff recruiting and maintenance.

So how does your company feel about this?

Labels: Benefits, Health, Recruiting

According to a piece from Employee Benefit News by Leah Carlson Shepherd: "small businesses can benefit from wellness initiatives."

Normally associated with larger companies, wellness programs aim to keep workers healthy and active, as personal wellness is believed to be linked with productivity. However, Brian Passon disagrees with that general association saying that small businesses "typically get higher rates of participation" and generally do not "have to work as hard in implementing the programs."

Instead of creating an onsite fitness center, gym and/or track, small businesses can partake in these programs with customized components. For example, sharing a fitness company or consultant with another small business. Beyond on-site health screenings or educational classes, programs can focus on healthy cooking, smoking cessation, or even fitness incentive contests.

Ultimately these sorts of programs encourage that long-term commitment is key to personal wellness, as it is with employment-related productivity. Quick fixes, nor unmotivated workers, need not apply.

Labels: Health, Human Resources, Small Businesses