Good Health Solutions Wins NSW government contract – the Healthy Workforce Program

Good Health Solutions is delighted to have been selected as an approved service provider for the Whole of Government contract for the provision of lifestyle and fitness programs for NSW Public Sector employees (RFT0702193).

State and Federal Governments are becoming increasingly aware of the positive impact improved employee wellbeing can deliver in relation to key business metrics such as absence and productivity. As such the NSW government has developed the Healthy Workforce Program for the provision of health and wellbeing programs for NSW Public Sector employees. The contractual agreement means that Good Health Solutions will provide services in the following categories:

Category 1: Health and Wellbeing Surveys
Category 2: Health Screening
Category 3: Health and Wellbeing Information & Awareness Programs
Category 4: Influenza Vaccinations
Category 5: Online Support

Good Health Solutions is offering special rates to the whole of state government departments and agencies.

For more information or to get your program started, please contact Artemi Kelly on 1300 657 644 or (02) 9356 0810

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Unhealthy Employees are Costing Companies Big Bucks in Productivity

For every dollar an employee spends on medical costs and pharmaceuticals, businesses incur a health related productivity loss amounting to $2.30, according to research. This is found to be a direct result of subsequent absenteeism and presenteeism.

Results of the US study published this month in Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, found that the cost of presenteeism (when employees are at work but not performing to their full capacity) has a greater impact on a companies bottom line than even absenteeism. This relationship is supported by earlier Australian research performed by Econtech in 2007, which found that the cost of presenteeism was in fact 4 times greater than absenteeism.

The US study found that for some conditions the cost of illness is even greater than the $1 spent:$2.30 lost correlation. For instance, anxiety is costing employers $20 in productivity for every $1 employees spend on related medical care and pharmaceuticals.

The study found that the five most costly conditions, when considering health care and pharmacuetical costs only, were cancer, back/neck pain, coronary heart disease, chronic pain and high cholesterol. However the landscape changed when productivity losses were also considered - the top five costliest conditions were depression, obesity, arthritis, back/neck pain and anxiety. These therefore represent the real impact of poor health on productivity. Furthermore, assessing the effect of health on productivity loss is a more meaningful measurement and analysis approach to determining the true impact to business .

The study, “Health and Productivity as a Business Strategy: A Multiemployer Study” is well researched and credible. It combined data from medical and pharmacy claims with self-reported health-related employee absenteeism and presenteeism data which was taken from the Health and Work Performance Questionnaire, a broadly validated tool developed by researcher Ronald Kessler of Harvard University and the World Health Organization.

A number of other interesting observations were made. According to a principal author of the study, Dr. Ronald Loeppke, these health related productivity losses were seen company wide irrespective of executive or non-executive roles. Also, the more health conditions suffered by an individual the greater the productivity loss.

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Preventing potential illness or even death has never been so easy with Good Health Solutions suite of health assessments to suit everyone’s needs.

The benefits of these health checks speak for themselves when looking at the results of the recent Victorian Governments WorkHealth pilot program. This unique initiative that aims to screen workers for preventable diseases has been highly effective. So much so that according to a media release today from the Victorian Government, Premier John Brumby stated that following health screenings, two in three workers were referred to a general practitioner for further medical attention.

 

Are we so busy that we can’t take time to avoid preventable death? Prevention is better than cure is proven time and time again. Research has shown that up to 80 per cent of cases of coronary heart disease, 90 per cent of type 2 diabetes cases and up to half of all cancers can be avoided by changing to a healthier diet, increasing physical activity, maintaining a healthy body weight and stopping smoking.

 

Prevention is obviously just as achievable for women as it is for men. Many of the chronic (long-term) health problems affecting Australians are largely preventable. Although factors leading to illness or even death are out of your control (your genes or your age); others can be changed (cigarette smoking, exercise, diet), while some are still unknown. Risk factors are cumulative – the more risk factors you have, the higher your risk of developing a myriad of diseases. Therefore, the goal of prevention is to identify and lower the risk factors that can be changed.

 

Good Health Solutions offer services that do exactly that – identify health risk factors and help people implement health programs to make positive changes to their lifestyle and hence their health and life expectancy.

 

Good Health Solutions identification services range from onsite workplace 20 and/or 40 minute health checks right through to a suite of thorough 2 hour executive health assessments at our conveniently located CBD health assessment centres. We also have testing facilities at St Vincent’s Clinic in both Sydney and Melbourne.

 

In terms of helping people manage and prioritise necessary changes, Good Health Solutions offers a number of consulting services from personalised Health Coaching programs, nutrition consultations as well as various targeted seminars and exercise classes.

 

Companies can implement such services for their employees ensuring they maintain and maximise productivity of their valued employees or you can simply access these HAC’s personally. All information is confidential.

You may be thinking that you have left your run a little too late. The good news it is it never too late to adopt healthy lifestyle habits and to start reaping the benefits. Please feel free to further view this website to see how Good Health Solutions can help.

The Health & Productivity Institute of Australia is the peak body of Corporate Wellness Providers of Australia.

 

HAPIA was formed in 2007 by Australia’s leading corporate health and wellness providers who sought unified representation to government and business in relation to the role of the workplace in preventative health.

 

HAPIA’s mission is to contribute to the health reform debate, to improve health outcomes and reduce health system costs through its focus on prevention, particularly preventative services delivered to employees at the worksite.

 

HAPIA also oversees standards and accreditation, funds research, supports evidence based approaches to corporate health, and promotes ethical business practices within the industry .  For further information, visit www.hapia.com.au