Looking at the big picture.As important as it is, workers' compensation workers' compensation, payment by employers for some part of the cost of injuries, or in some cases of occupational diseases, received by employees in the course of their work. is just one aspect of the skyrocketing health care costs that businesses cope with today. To tackle the issue on a broader scale, companies should take a more holistic view of employee health, says Hank hank n. 1. A coil or loop. 2. Nautical A ring on a stay attached to the head of a jib or staysail. 3. A looped bundle, as of yarn. McKinnell, chairman and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of Pfizer, the $52 billion global pharmaceutical company. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] By and large, businesses need to move beyond the traditional focus on cutting medical treatment costs and instead think about fostering health, says McKinnell. "Focusing only on the cost of care is looking at the health care problem through the wrong end of the telescope telescope, traditionally, a system of lenses, mirrors, or both, used to gather light from a distant object and form an image of it. Traditional optical telescopes, which are the subject of this article, also are used to magnify objects on earth and in astronomy; ," he explains. "Business and governmental leaders need to shift their focus, resources and innovation from the cost of health care to the total value of health." Indeed, research shows that wellness and prevention programs can have a positive effect on both group health and workers' comp comp See comparison. costs. McKinnell, whose recent book A Call to Action (McGraw-Hill) explores the U.S. health care crisis, says Pfizer "is making health promotion and disease prevention a priority and part of our overall business strategy." Earlier this year, the company began offering a Healthy Directions program that includes a 24/7 "Nurseline" that gives employees access to health experts, a confidential Health Resource Web portal See portal. and personalized per·son·al·ize tr.v. per·son·al·ized, per·son·al·iz·ing, per·son·al·iz·es 1. To take (a general remark or characterization) in a personal manner. 2. To attribute human or personal qualities to; personify. health improvement programs. Within a few months, more than 28,000 of Pfizer's 42,000 U.S. employees were registered on the portal, and more than 3,000 people were enrolled in health coaching programs. "We are off to a great start," says McKinnell. "We now need to maintain our momentum." For Pfizer--and for business in general--such momentum needs to be driven from the top. "Employee health care is ultimately as important as any other productivity initiative," McKinnell says. "The average American worker puts in about 235 workdays a year. Every three days off for sick time translates into a more than 1 percent drop in employee productivity. Clearly, business leaders need to understand and appreciate the relationship between a healthy workforce and a healthy bottom line." HANK MCKINNELL * CHAIRMAN & CEO, PFIZER |
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