TIP OF THE WEEK

 

                                                                    September 5, 2008

 

Did you know...?        

 

ACOEM issued a five-point action plan to fix the U.S. health care system.

 

The American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM) on Thursday (September 4, 2008) issued comments on Healthy Workforce / Healthy Economy: The Role of Health, Productivity, and Disability Management in Addressing the Nation’s Health Care Crisis in response to an article in the May 2008 issue of Health Affairs.  The article predicted that “if current trends persist, sometime between 2016 and 2020 existing federal revenues will cover only health entitlements, Social Security, debt service, and a smaller defense budget, leaving nothing for anything else, including the environment, education or new health initiatives.”

 

Further exacerbating the problem, according to the article, is that aging baby boomers are creating an increased burden of chronic disease that threatens a productive workforce.  In addition, the balance between workers and those who are dependent on government programs (i.e., Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid) is on the verge of a dramatic shift.  ACOEM believes that simply providing insurance for everyone in the United States will not solve this problem.  Nor will spending more money on the traditional silo of sick-care and late-stage medical interventions.  ACOEM believes that more attention and resources should be devoted to health-related services that protect the employability of the working-age population in order to maximize workforce participation and productivity.  In addition, government should preferentially invest in high-leverage services that improve the overall health and function of the workforce in order to maintain a proper balance between economic net contributors and net dependent (those dependent on government programs).  The need for medical care can be reduced by focusing on evidence-based prevention through health promotion and early intervention, the organization said. 

ACOEM proposed a five-point "action plan" to respond to the health care crisis:

 

The best way to instill these goals, the ACOEM says, is to fund programs for prevention and health improvement and develop worksite programs in occupational, personal and public health, along with benefits design and economic and social policy.  Delivering non-traditional services to individuals beyond medical offices is also vital.  In addition, companies must assure access to evidence-based preventive and early intervention healthcare and align financial incentives that will shift consumers and health care providers toward prevention.

 

The profession of occupational and environmental medicine (OEM) is positioned at the crossroads of the employer-employee-health system interface, making it a logical advocate for health system reform through workplace initiatives.  Among all specialties, OEM physicians have unique training, expertise and perspective to understand the link between health and productivity as well as how to help injured, ill and aging workers remain productive and at work.  In addition, the OEM community has a high concentration of physicians trained in public health.  Their focus on population-based health issues is critically important to health system reform. Thus, OEM physicians have a distinct and logical role to play in advocating for prevention-oriented programs that protect and assure the health of employed and productive citizens.

 

To learn more about how OHS-COMPCARE can help your company with its preventive health care needs please contact our Client Services Team at (816) 561-2105 option 1 or by e-mail at customerservice@ohscompcare.com or visit us at www.ohscompcare.com.

 

To read ACOEM's full statement point your browser to:  http://acoem.org/comments.aspx?id.

 

The American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM) is the nation’s largest medical society devoted to promoting the health of workers, their families, and communities through preventive medicine, clinical care, research, and education. ACOEM represents more than 5,000 physicians and other health care professionals specializing in the field of occupational and environmental medicine (OEM).  To learn more about ACOEM please visit their webpage at http://www.acoem.org/.

 

 

*Please feel free to forward this information to any member of management in your company who would benefit from it.*

 

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To learn more about services OHS-COMPCARE has to offer, contact our Client Services Team at (816) 561-2105 option 1 or by e-mail at customerservice@ohscompcare.com.  You can also visit us at www.ohscompcare.com.

 

Why choose us?  Because OHS-COMPCARE is your Occupational Medicine Provider.  Our commitment is to assist you in controlling your cost by delivering appropriate quality medical care, preventing unnecessary recordables and delivering outstanding service.

 

 

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