As work site health screening events continue to rise in popularity, employers large and small are realizing that helping employees “know their numbers” can provide them with early warnings of potential chronic illness such as high blood pressure or cholesterol so they can get the care needed and make lifestyle changes to address pressing health risks.

 

For many employees who participate in work site biometric screenings — which determine weight, height, blood pressure, blood cholesterol levels and blood glucose — and whose results reflect low risk, their numbers are usually forgotten soon after the screening is over.

 

That’s now starting to change, as employers and health care companies are creating benefit packages centered on consumerism and individual accountability. For instance, UnitedHealthcare already pre-populates Personal Health Records (PHRs) with medical claims data and lab tests, but on-site screening results had previously been left to individuals to populate on their own.

 

Because of the importance of these types of screenings as a predictor of future health care needs, UnitedHealthcare is now able to automatically integrate eligible individuals’ biometric screening data from on-site health screening events into the electronic PHR. The information is only shared with an employer if the individual signs a release form.

 

To empower individuals to be more engaged and proactive in their health care, many health care companies are adding features like a PHR, which helps individuals manage and track their health, including lab tests and preventive screening results, online.

 

“Knowing your numbers is beneficial when those numbers reveal a problem or opportunity that should be addressed,” said Harlan Levine, M.D., chief medical officer of the Care Solutions division of OptumHealth, the UnitedHealth Group company that helped create PHRs. “But having an electronic record that reflects how those numbers change over time, and is always readily available to the individual and his or her health care providers, offers sustained value and can serve to improve outcomes and reduce errors and redundancy.”

 

Consumers have always been able to enter values for these categories on their own by logging into their PHR online, and they will continue to be able to do that, Dr. Levine said. But the new feature helps simplify the process and makes it easier for individuals to keep track of important health information, including total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, glucose, body mass index (BMI), body fat and blood pressure information.

 

UnitedHealthcare’s PHR also automatically populates based on members’ medical and pharmacy claims, data from integrated clinical laboratories and the information recorded into health assessments offered through employers.

 

“People need continuity in their health care throughout their life changes,” Dr. Levine said. “The personal health record gives consumers ongoing Internet-based access to information that can help improve care coordination, prevent duplicate testing and enhance patient safety by reducing the possibility of medication errors.”

 

Personal health records are evolving as a tool to give consumers greater control of their health care information. Secure, Internet-based access to personal health records is especially valuable when information is needed during emergencies, at night or on weekends, when other sources of information are often unavailable, Dr. Levine said.

 

“We encourage consumers to print out and share a copy of their personal health record with their doctor, especially if they are being treated by multiple physicians,” he added, noting that the biometric data from employee health screening events hasn’t typically made it into physicians’ charts in the past. “Sharing this information can help improve the partnership between the patient and physician, and better inform their joint decisions about care.”