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How to Select the Best Health Risk Appraisal for Your Organization
By Jo Steinberg - President of Midland Health
Health Risk Appraisals are often the starting point for most corporate wellness programs. Not all Health Risk Appraisals (HRA's) are created equal and not all of them will be the best fit for your company. Here are some tricks of the trade that can help you make a few wise decisions.
Health Risk Appraisals are surveys that assess and provide helpful recommendations for improved health. They are an extremely important element of your wellness program.
HRA's can serve many important functions for each person and the company as a whole.
Why Use an HRA? What does it do?
- Provides individuals with a snapshot of their health.
- It is a catalyst for behavior change.
- Offers a pat on the back for some and a wake up call for others.
- Determines readiness for change
- Provides insight on how to best communicate health information to participants.
- Helps evaluate health issues
- Assesses the health of your group as a whole
- Provides data to plan specific interventions
- Serves as a monitor of the population's health
- Can help predict morbidity, mortality and health care utilization
- It provides insight into the best ways of providing helpful health information
- Evaluates over time changes in health behavior, health risks, attitudes and perceptions.
Exactly how will you use the HRA in your corporate environment?
Example 1 - Stand Alone : The HRA and the personal health report will be sent to the individual at their home or office.
Example 2 - One on One Presentation: The HRA is completed by the participant and a health care professional goes through it with them. This is usually a 15 minute session done at the place of employment.
Example 3 - Explanation presented in a group setting : The HRA's are handed out and the health risk appraisals are explained to the entire group.
Most well written HRA's have an abundance of information available to the participant however, adding the human touch, can make a big difference to many people who are bordering on making healthy lifestyle changes.
The Importance of Biometrics
Many HRA's are self reported. Most people are honest when answering the questions but if you've ever looked at a person's weight on their driver's license you can see that many are not entirely truthful. That is where the importance of biometric testing comes in. A person's height, weight, BP, body composition, cholesterol, HDL, LDL, triglycerides and glucose are the basic measurements that are usually asked for. With more and more companies basing their insurance premiums on the outcome of the HRA from year to year it is critical that you have the most accurate results possible.
HRA's can have wide variations such as different size, questions, appearance, format, readability, processing time, cost and content emphasis. Let's focus on what is important for your company's culture and work backwards.
Follow these few tips when deciding on an HRA They were originally mentioned in the Art of Health Promotion Newsletter and are designed to help you make the selection of an HRA a little easier.
- Clarify your program goals. Does your program primarily improve the quality of life of your target population or is its goal to produce economic savings or gains? Clarify these goals in order to help you select an HRA that will fit your program goals.
- Determine the set of functions you want your HRA to fulfill. Rank the functions that you have focused on from the most important to the least important.
- Decide what specific follow-up actions you want the HRA to help you do. Prepare a list of specific activities and their corresponding actions that you want the HRA to enable you to accomplish. Be as specific as you can so that these technical specifications will be relevant to your program goals and functions associated with the HRA process.
- Do a preliminary review and select a "short list" of the best potential vendors. Contact the vendors and request samples of their HRA's, personal and group reports and associated marketing materials.
- Determine the technical specifications that are important to you. Based on your company culture, determine if you want an HRA that is paper format, on line or both.
- Does the HRA spell out the stages of change?
- Does it include biometric testing?
- How useful are the group reports?
- Is the personal report highly personal or more general in design?
- How many at risk categories does the HRA identify?
- What are the various costs of HRA's?
- Can you compare results year to year?
- Does it have a section which can be copied or torn out and given to their physician?
- Apply the technical specifications to each vendor candidate. A grid is usually helpful in organizing information. Check references, and review reporting options.
- Develop a long-term partnership. The first year is the hardest for you and your vendor. Change can be difficult for employees. They might feel as if you are meddling into their personal affairs. Taking the time to explain things to your staff and be sure the vendor insures confidentiality.
- Follow through appropriately. Details, details, details are very important. Make sure you have a clear line of communication with your employees and vendor so you can deliver a top-notch program to benefit everyone.
Plan to stay with your HRA for a minimum of 3 to 5 years. That is why it is so important that you do your homework prior to making your choice. Use it to your best advantage.
Jo A. Steinberg
President and Owner, Midland Health
Jo is an experienced medical professional who has expanded her knowledge and passion for healthcare into a number of successful businesses as well as achievements in wellness product design since 1976. She has been in the corporate wellness field since 1988.
