Health and Medical News and Resources

General interest items edited by Janice Flahiff

[AHA article] (Aerobics /Preventive Medicine pioneer) Dr. Kenneth Cooper is keynote speaker at Scientific Sessions 2013

Back in college I took a “physical fitness” class.  One of Dr. Cooper’s books was required reading. Very inspiring. Good to see he is still a living example of his well tested theories of aerobic exercise and wellness  program benefits.

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From the 18 November American Heart Association article

In the early 1960s, when the great Space Race was being fueled by the escalating Cold War, a former track and basketball star from Oklahoma envisioned himself soaring through the Milky Way.

This tall, lanky fellow was an Army doctor, but the lure of space flight led him to transfer to the Air Force. He became certified in aerospace medicine. Then he developed training programs for astronauts – some for before they took off, others to help them remain in shape while floating weightlessly in outer space. All along, his sights were set on becoming among a select group of “science astronauts.”

Imagine how different life on Earth would be today if Kenneth Cooper, MD, MPH, hadn’t shifted gears.

Cooper actually was still in the Air Force when he published “Aerobics,” a book that did as much for the health of Americans as the Apollo 11 lunar landing did for the aerospace industry. Cooper’s book, by the way, came out first – more than a year before Neil Armstrong planted the U.S. flag on the moon.

That book is now available in more than 40 languages. Cooper has spoken in more than 50 countries, and written 18 more books. He is the “Father of Aerobics” and a big reason why the number of runners in the United States spiked from 100,000 when his book came out to 34 million in 1984.

…

Having proven the benefits of preventive medicine and wellness in the military, he was ready to shift to the private sector.

The private sector, however, wasn’t ready for him.

When he opened his clinic in Dallas, naysayers told him, “You can’t limit your practice to taking care of healthy people. People only want to see their physicians when they’re sick.” And those were the kind ones. Others turned him in to the local medical society’s board of censors.

“They thought I was going to kill people by putting them on treadmills for stress testing,” Cooper said. “I’d been doing it in the Air Force for 10 years!”

The big picture turned out more clearly. Baby Boomers became exercisers, triggering a fitness craze that produced what he calls “the glory years of health in America.” As Boomers have aged, and future generations have made fitness a lower priority, health had spiraled in the wrong direction. It’s been 17 years since the Surgeon General recommended 30 minutes of physical activity most days of the week, and the statistics show that most Americans aren’t doing it.

“For many years, I’ve put people into five health categories, ranking them from very poor to excellent. Research constantly shows that major gains can be made by moving up just one category, even if it’s just from very poor to poor,” Cooper said. “If we can get the 50 million Americans who are totally inactive today to move up just one category, think of the dramatic effect that would have. Just by avoiding inactivity!”

…

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November 18, 2013 Posted by | Consumer Health | , , , , | 1 Comment

Corporate wellness programs fail both companies and patients

desk treadmill rendezblue-1

desk treadmill rendezblue-1 (Photo credit: healthiermi)

 

Corporate wellness programs fail both companies and patients.

 

From the 9 September 2013 article by Kevin Pho at KevinMD.com

 

This column was published in USA Today on September 9, 2013.

More patients are coming to my primary care clinic with forms from their employer, asking me to measure their blood pressure, or check their sugar and cholesterol levels. Companies requesting medical data drive employee wellness programs, a booming $6 billion business, with approximately half of large employers offering such plans.

Coaching and financial incentives are often offered to help employees meet certain health metrics, such as losing weight, lowering cholesterol or quitting smoking. The results of these tests are often tied to the cost of health insurance, with less healthy workers paying more. Under the Affordable Care Act, up to 30% of an employee’s premium in 2014 can be influenced by these programs, an average of$1,620 annually per worker.

 

Wellness programs are designed to lower costs for employers and keep workers healthy, but do they accomplish either goal?

True health cost savings?

Wellness plans are often promoted as saving $3 or more for every dollar invested. But a recent RAND Corporation analysis found that fewer than half of companies took the time to calculate whether these programs saved them money. If they did, the numbers might have startled them. That same study also concluded that wellness programs did not significantly reduce employer health costs.

Why? Health screenings generally promote more doctor visits, prescription medications or further tests. While this might benefit workers’ health, it doesn’t necessarily save money.

If there are no measurable savings, employers pass on the cost of these programs, as much as $500,000 per year, to workers by raising their insurance premiums.

Whether wellness programs improve health is also dubious. This year, the California Health Benefits Review Program, which advises the state’s legislature, found that employees’ blood pressure, blood sugar or cholesterol did not improve by participating in a corporate wellness plan. Weight loss was minimal, with the RAND researchers finding that workers lost about 1 pound annually for three years.

Furthermore, there was no improvement in the rate of hospitalizations and emergency room visits.

Some short-term benefits

While there was a short-term gain in the rate of smokers quitting, it came with a qualification. Fewer than half of employees participate in wellness programs, which are mostly voluntary. Those who participate are often the most motivated, making it hard to tell whether their smoking cessation was due to the wellness program or the employees’ motivation.

Wellness programs also require tests more frequently. For instance, many require blood sugar and cholesterol screens every year in healthy adults, far in excess of recommended guidelines, which call for checking these levels once every three and five years, respectively. Such over-testing doesn’t necessarily make patients any healthier and contributes to the $210 billion our health system spends annually in unnecessary care.

Because I want my patients to save money on their insurance premiums, I dutifully fill out their wellness forms and order the requested screening tests that might not be needed. But it’s doubtful I’m saving these companies money or making my patients healthier by doing so.

Kevin Pho is an internal medicine physician and co-author of Establishing, Managing, and Protecting Your Online Reputation: A Social Media Guide for Physicians and Medical Practices. He is on the editorial board of contributors, USA Today, and is founder and editor, KevinMD.com, also on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and LinkedIn.

 

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October 26, 2013 Posted by | health care | , , , , , | Leave a comment

   

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