You can’t boil the ocean with personalized medical data- at least not yet. Companies like Keas have tried and failed (fortunately for them, Keas is finding success with a new gamification approach). They aren’t the only company whose attempted to be the “Mint.com” of health care – if I only had a dollar for each […]
1 Comment. Continue Reading...Self-insured employers are motivated to reduce medical costs to achieve costs savings. A growing percentage of small employers are self-insured, increasing by 65% between 2008 and 2010 according to a PricewaterhouseCoopers report. (80% of employers with 1,000 or more employees are already self-insured). Why the trend? To cut healthcare costs, of course. Rather than pay […]
No Comments. Continue Reading...While individual behavior change strategies (e.g., establishing exercise regimens, nutritional ounseling, etc.) can be effective, implementing government policies that facilitate behavior change and nudge citizens toward healthier lifestyles is a key component toward improving population health. Both individual and community change should happen in tandem to really impact health outcomes and the overall wellness of […]
No Comments. Continue Reading...A study published in the latest issue of the journal Annals of Behavioral Medicine shows that worry may be an important factor in motivating people to quit smoking. Lead author Renee Magnan and her coauthors found that sending smokers several messages (six to eight per day) creates worry that causes them to contemplate quitting. In […]
No Comments. Continue Reading...A couple of interesting studies on how workplace obesity programs can lower health risks: A study recently published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine found that environmental changes can positively impact employees’ health risks, including weight. Ron Goetzel et al. discussed the first-year results of Dow Chemical’s obesity prevention program, studying over 8,000 […]
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