Occupational Health Management Archives – October 1, 2011
October 1, 2011
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Economic woes may ratchet up penalties for obesity, smoking
Will employers facing soaring health care costs begin penalizing smokers or obese employees with higher premiums or surcharges? -
ACA incentives may be undercut by coalition
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) contains provisions for offering financial incentives for wellness participation in workplaces, which is good news for occupational health. However, the American Heart Association and the American Cancer Society have created a coalition to persuade federal regulators to prohibit financial incentives for Health Risk Assessments when family history items are involved. -
Does worker qualify for incentive? Be objective
The near future of health promotion and illness prevention programs is relatively clear in one aspect: In large part, they will be based on metrics such as body mass index and nicotine levels. -
Urge workers to spot, report hidden hazards
Often, safety hazards are "hiding in plain sight" in workplaces and not reported, acted on or corrected. One reason is that employees are inundated on a daily basis with all kinds of information, both at work and at home. -
Got feedback? Get it to lift stalled program
Companies looking to cut costs may take one look at an occupational health program that isn't getting results and decide to cut their losses. Before things get to that point, get some feedback from employees about the program. -
Look within to tweak occ health programs
In 2007, Omaha, NE-based Union Pacific conducted a retrospective analysis to examine the relationship between employees' health status and injury occurrences. Data were matched for employees in various departments who completed a voluntary health risk appraisal and experienced an injury during a defined period of time. -
AHA backs flu shot mandate for workers
Hospitals geared up for their annual influenza immunization campaigns this fall with a greater emphasis on mandatory policies to achieve the highest possible coverage of employees. An advisory from the American Hospital Association gave a push toward mandatory vaccination of health care workers. -
Why HCWs get the flu vaccine — or don't
Almost three in four (71%) of hospital-based health care workers received their flu vaccine last year, showing a sustained commitment to vaccination even after the pandemic subsided, according to a survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. -
Is it an ethical duty to mandate flu shot?
More and more hospitals are adopting a policy that mandates influenza immunization for their employees with patient safety as the primary rationale. But some ethical questions linger: -
How effective is the flu vaccine?
The flu vaccine is very effective for older children and adults, aged 10 to 49 years, but may be less effective than believed for the population overall, according to two recent studies.