Application of econometric analyses to determine medical and lost productivity costs related to health risks and health conditions in employee populations

As American workers age, work longer, and incur greater health risks, employers of all sizes are facing unprecedented medical care and lost productivity cost challenges. In today's budgetary climate, it is imperative for WHP practitioners to have the tools and knowledge to identify their most pressing employee health issues. To do so, they need to access and employ appropriate tools and techniques to 1) financially quantify which issues to target, 2) understand the impact of each issue on an employer's medical care and lost productivity costs, and 3) measure the impact of their risk reduction efforts on both metrics. This session will highlight various website-based tools (commercial and non-commercial) that practitioners may wish to use in achieving the preceding objectives. Particular emphasis will focus on how to access and apply essential demographic, medical care, and lost productivity data in order to maximize the output information generated from each tool. For practitioners who wish to develop a customized, in-house tool for calculating risk factor-specific costs, this session will illustrate the major steps for doing so. Finally, this session will describe how practitioners can use the results from their respective tools to conduct baseline, intermediate, and follow-up medical care and lost productivity cost comparisons