In the US today there is a lot of talk about changes to the healthcare system.  One strong perspective that is endorsed by President Obama is a focus on prevention.  Obama has asked why the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota and the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio and other institutions can offer the highest quality care at costs well below the national norm. 

In the instance of the Cleveland Clinic, the healthcare focus has shifted from sickness to 'wellness'. CEO Dr Delos Cosgrove, who for years was a heart surgeon said "I never saw a well person in my life . They were all sick.  We are in the sickness business.  We need to get into the health business."

What Dr Cosgrove means by getting into the health business is Cleveland's Lifestyle 180 program.  This program is essentially an experiment in prevention being conducted on its own staff. The program is also available to the public but costs $1,500.

During 48 hours of sessions spanning 6 week participants focus on developing their personal 'Good Health Philosophy'.  They get a 'tool kit' complete with yoga mat, recipe book and tips for navigating supermarket food aisles (so they can understand what those food labels really mean).  Cooking classes teach leaner healthier meals, exercise via yoga and participation in a healing arts program are also part of Lifestyle 180. The Clinic now offers 10 yoga classes a day for employees and patients.

Says Cosgrove "Patients who want to live healthier lives should be encouraged and supported to do so."  This makes sense from a workers' compensation perspective.  The Cleveland Clinic, as the city's largest employer, is mindful of the fact that an employee health program is good for the bottom line.  Improve employee health and you cut sick days and boost productivity.  More important you keep insurance premiums under control.

The upfront cost can be minimal. "There are things organisations can do that send a real message but cost very little," says Cosgrove. "It doesn't cost anything at all to have a walking program.  It doesn't cost anything to take the stairs instead of the elevator."

Dr Michael Roizen, Cleveland Clinic's Chief Wellness Officer, says, "The only way to justify doing wellness in a commercially viable way is to demonstrate that you can lower the cost of care." Hence Roizen has a research program running alongside Lifestyle 180 which not only tracks participants' progress (an average 10 point reduction in LDL cholesterol and 8 cms off their waists), but maintains and evaluates progress after the program ends, through 5 follow-up sessions during the year and weekly emails.  Based on the results so far the hospital's HR officer anticipates that, while workers' comp costs increased by between 4% and 8% in each of the last six years, costs will not increase in 2010.

Will prevention work?  Will the US health system embrace strategy over prescriptions and procedures? Human beings have long practiced prevention and preservation. Pioneers preserved food to prevent starvation in lean times.  Modern workers invest in superannuation schemes to prevent destitution when they are older.  Applying the same ethos to medical care ought not be that difficult.

Have we got the wisdom to make the lateral leap from positive health initiatives in the US, to workers' comp authorities in Australia and New Zealand funding wellness programs in local workplaces?  Of course.........   well, maybe,..................  ummmm.

We did a search on the state WorkCover authorities’ websites to see what they have on 'wellness' - W.A. ran a workshop program in 2008, but you had to pay.  Vic decided to send medical teams to workplaces last year to evaluate workers health (more a how sick are we?, program) & was surprised when employers were not keen on the idea of undiscovered liabilities. S.A. has a couple of links on its website, but they don't work.  N.S.W., Qld, and Tas don't have anything. And, lol, the WorkSafe NT web site doesn't have a search function.

We're in good hands.

Never mind, in a stunning piece of accidental cross marketing, RTWMatters rides in to save the day.  Dr Mary Wyatt has written a Health and Productivity Manual which deals with workplace wellness, including how to set up a program.  

Articles we've already published on Health & Wellbeing:

Top ten reasons to have a health and wellbeing program

The scientific method: Successful health and wellbeing strategies at the CSIRO.

Employees tough to budge on workplace health?