March 1, 2000

New database available to help employers improve the health of their employees

Work Loss Data Institute announces release of Employer Health Register 2000 (EHR), "Guide to Essential Products and Services For Employers to Improve the Health & Productivity of their Employees." EHR is available as a hard-copy reference, a CD-ROM, or online over the Internet.

Employer Health Register was designed to help companies maximize the value of their most important asset - their employees. Studies by Work-Loss Data Institute showed that companies were discovering that, by empowering their employees with the ability to improve their health status, they were creating increased loyalty among the team members in their organization. They found that healthy motivated employees were their most productive employees - both in terms of reduced absences as well as greater effectiveness at work. By maximizing employee health, these companies are improving their competitiveness, growth and profitability.

At the same time, efforts to maximize employee health and wellness are still evolving, and employers were having difficulty identifying and evaluating all of their health benefit options. EHR was created to meet this need. In one place, it contains detailed information on all of the latest techniques for maximizing employee health and wellness.

The study by Work-Loss Data Institute found that the number of alternative programs is enormous and growing every day. Wellness, health promotion, and disease management programs are taking off at many companies. Employers are seeing a payoff in getting involved in activities formerly considered part of their employees’ personal lives or the responsibility of public health officials. At other employers ergonomics programs have had an excellent return on investment, and it appears that increased attention to this area will be mandated by OSHA. Many new products and services have been introduced in the fields of safety and occupational health. There was considerable interest in integrated disability benefits and workers’ comp managed care.

As the smorgasbord of benefit options grows, many claims were being made for alternative healthcare services, as well as newly designed programs for pharmacy, vision care, dental care and work/family balance programs such as eldercare and employee assistance. With all of these changes, the growth of PEO’s (Professional Employer Organizations) has been enormous in some states. Finally, many employers have identified ways to utilize the Internet and the Worldwide Web to maximize the return on employee health benefit dollars.

At the same time, after a period of stability, healthcare costs are starting to rise rapidly. Just to stay within their budgets, employers need to find ways to do what they are already doing for less.

As a result of this study, Work-Loss Data Institute designed EHR to help companies locate, understand and select programs and products to enhance the well-being of their employees and increase the value of their most important asset. In one place, it provides information on all health benefit options, and allows users to compare services offered by competing suppliers. It also provides detailed information which can be used to evaluate the reliability of each supplier.

Employer Health Register is available in three formats. The hard-copy version, a 700-page reference, is $125 (ISBN 1-880891-31-X). The CD-ROM, with extensive searching software, is $115 (ISBN 1-880891-32-8). And the Internet version is $135 annually. Quantity discount pricing is available on all versions, and site licenses are also available.

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New:  Now available on the Web for free at www.employerhealth.com.