What if you could improve employee health and save your company thousands of dollars in the process? When you empower employees to quit using tobacco, you can. Tobacco is the leading cause of preventable disease, disability and death in the United States.1 More than 480,000 Americans die of a smoking-related disease, and another 16 million […]
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David L. Katz, MD, has said, “What’s best for all of us tends to be best for each of us, too.” When it comes to global health, that statement certainly rings true. Around the world, the people who live the longest and with the best health tend to: Eat well Stay active Get proper sleep […]
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Although today’s news seems to be filled with misconceptions around immunizations, the fact is that vaccines — especially the flu vaccine — can make a big difference in our community’s health. In 2018, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated that the flu vaccine prevented more than seven million illnesses.1 The flu vaccine […]
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Many people are surprised to learn that a person’s social, environmental and behavioral characteristics contribute significantly more to causes of premature death than access to health care and genetic predisposition. Just as surprising, then, should be the fact that we typically focus resources across our industry on what accounts for only a small percentage of […]
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Many hospitals and health systems have invested extensive time and resources developing and implementing clinical decision support (CDS) to help improve patient outcomes. As a physician, I believe we achieve the best outcomes when CDS technologies work in-sync and at the speed-of-care delivery to ease clinician cognitive burden and provide timely patient-specific evidence-based guidance at […]
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“Don’t bite off more than you can chew.” “Don’t boil the ocean.” “Less is more.” Pick your cliché about avoiding the risk of trying to do too much and accomplishing little. The fact is, all clichés have some truth to them — and “starting small” can lead to big results. Health and Human Services (HHS) […]
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As a clinician myself, I have seen the power of the in-home assessment to help members live healthier lives—a key aspect of our mission. The work our Optum HouseCalls clinicians do often results in members reaching out to tell us how a visit made all the difference in their lives. In this example, proactive care […]
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The health care industry talks a lot about workplace well-being from the employer or health plan perspective. But we wondered, what do employees think about well-being? And how might their perspectives translate to improved health offerings and outcomes? To learn more about this important topic, Optum recently partnered with the National Business Group on Health® […]
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Do you ever wonder if it makes sense to start exercising now, at this age? Perhaps you were never an athlete, or were once active but got stuck in the grind of everyday life, and getting to the gym just slipped to the bottom of your priorities. How on earth can you get back in […]
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How do Silicon Valley employers compare to other employers across the U.S. when it comes to addressing employee well-being? Optum recently analyzed its survey of national employers to gauge how Silicon Valley firms stack up. Below are some key insights from our analysis. Behavioral health and substance use disorder (SUD): Addressing mental health stigma and SUD is critical for nearly all employers. Silicon Valley companies measured slightly behind others in their plans to […]
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