Public Health

Benefits of a Healthy Workforce

That is the title of a recent FTI Journal article from my colleague Margaret E. Guerin-Calvert, the President, of FTI Consulting’s Center for Healthcare Economics and Policy. An excerpt is below.

Indeed, pre-pandemic data collected by FTI Consulting’s Center for Healthcare Economics and Policy for two metropolitan areas, Buffalo and Nashville, portends trouble. Just three chronic conditions — diabetes, hypertension, and depression — cost the two areas $1.4 billion and $2.0 billion respectively, in annual lost productivity and medical expenditure. (The Buffalo figure represents over 2% of its regional GDP.)

The issue is on the minds of employers as they prepare for the large-scale return of workers to the office. More than 1,000 employed professionals surveyed by FTI Consulting in September said the top business priority for CEOs should be the physical health and well-being of employees.

The article also highlights how some cities have found solutions to these issues:

Cincinnati: A major supermarket chain partnered with a large health insurer to use specially trained pharmacists to help both the city and their own employees manage hypertension. The number of employees with high blood pressure dropped from 48% to 30%, and medical costs for those employees were reduced by as much as $400 annually. The program also helped employees improve their management of diabetes.

Rochester: A blood pressure registry launched with support from business and local leaders provided guidance on blood pressure control. The result: 9 in 10 patients working with an advocate got their blood pressure under control, and the share of residents with high blood pressure dropped significantly over time.

Do read the whole article here.

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