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| Duke supports faculty, staff and their family members in practicing prevention through a broad range of health management programs that emphasize a proactive approach to improving health and preventing disease before it happens.
LIVE FOR LIFE, Duke's employee wellness
program, offers a variety of wellness opportunities, such as health assessments
and education, fitness activities and nutrition activities, to help eligible
faculty, staff and family members reach their health and fitness goals.
Duke Prospective Health,
offered to those enrolled in either Duke Select or Duke Basic health care plans,
is an approach for delivering health care that emphasizes wellness, prevention
of disease, and early intervention. Duke Prospective Health works with
participants and their personal physicians to identify health risks they may
face and help to prevent diseases and chronic conditions before they happen. The
program then assists participants with creating a step-by-step plan to make the
necessary changes to maintain or improve their quality of life and achieve
optimal health.Blue Extras, a
program provided by Blue Cross Blue Shield to participants of Blue Care and Duke
Options health plans, offers a range of free health management services and
programs to help you take charge of your health and save money. |
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Choices Today Can Impact Your Health and Wallet Tomorrow
Take Every Opportunity to Practice Preventive Health
Just admit it - you never got around to the New Year's resolution to work out three times a week. You still find yourself pulling into the drive-through to order the hamburger and fries. And you're still planning to quit smoking any day now.
Odds are that you recognize yourself in at least one of the three scenarios above. According to N.C. Prevention Partners, an agency of the N.C. Institute for Public Health, two-thirds of deaths from preventable diseases in North Carolina are related to physical inactivity, inadequate nutrition or tobacco use. Almost 98 percent of adults in North Carolina have at least one of these risky behaviors, placing the state near the bottom in the nation in addressing the issues that contribute to chronic disease.
Although chronic diseases are among the most common and costly of all health problems, they are also the most preventable.
"We make choices every day that affect our health and the risk of developing debilitating diseases and chronic conditions," said George Jackson, MD, director of Employee Occupational Health & Wellness at Duke. "Practicing preventive health by maintaining or developing healthy lifestyle habits and eliminating high-risk behaviors can reduce the chance of developing health problems. Unfortunately many of us are making poor lifestyle choices that affect our health and increase the risk of developing chronic diseases."
Today, with nearly 80 percent of disease in this country being preventable, practicing prevention has never been more relevant. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, each year in the United States, chronic diseases such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and cancer account for approximately 75 percent of health care costs.
At Duke, three of the top five health care claim expenses of faculty, staff and family pertain to the treatment of chronic disease.
"The costs of Duke's health plans are directly related to the health and pharmacy claims of those covered by the plans," said Lois Ann Green, director of Benefits. "Higher claims mean increased cost - for Duke and those covered by the plans. Duke covers the majority of the cost for our health plans, but an increase in claims also means an increase in monthly premiums for faculty and staff."
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Heart disease |
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Hypertension |
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Diabetes |
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One of the best ways to reduce claims cost, and thus, the rising cost of health care, is by practicing prevention. In many cases, more expensive treatments and procedures could be avoided through regular visits to a primary care physician, a healthy diet and exercise, and reducing other risky behaviors such as the use of tobacco.
"We want to create the healthiest workforce in the country," Green said. "And we have the most innovative programs and resources available right here at Duke to do that. We want to set the standard for others to follow. The first step is raising awareness about how our health care decisions today impact our well-being and health plan costs for the future. Together we can make a difference in slowing the rise in cost of health care and improving the health of our workforce."
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