Health screening goes to work; on-site health risk assessment and screening can be more than just an employee relations gesture - includes related articles on what to look for in a vendor, and screening resources

Business & Health, March, 1990 by Michael Rozek

Health screening goes to work

Anne Smith was over 40 and knew she should have a mammogram. Even her children were pestering her to have one. Still, it was a lot of expense and a lot of trouble. She'd have to miss work, and she loved her job at Leo Burnett Co., the prestigious Chicago advertising agency. She put it off.

But luckily for Smith (not her real name), Leo Burnett instituted a work-place mammography screening program. When the mobile testing van rolled up, Smith had her forms filled in and was ready. For $60 (near the low end of the $40 to $150 local range for the procedure) she had the screening.

"She came in to see me after she found out she had breast cancer," says Patti Haidu, benefits manager for Leo Burnett, which since 1988 has hosted The University of Chicago Hospitals' mobile mammography van for female employees and spouses of male employees.

"Thankfully," Haidu says, "it was detected early enough that she didn't have to have a complete mastectomy. She told me over and over again, 'The mammography saved my life.'"

Like virtually all companies sponsoring screening programs; Leo Burnett is careful about confidentiality. The company declines to give exact figures on how many cancers the program has detected or to estimate any health care cost savings resulting from early detection.

However, says Haidu, numbers aren't that important anyway. "At Burnett, our philosophy is that our greatest resource is our people. We want to help improve their lives."

Why do they do it?

Virtually every company interviewed for this article agrees with Haidu that the most important reason for health screenings is to help employees.

On the other hand, common sense suggests that these screenings at least have the potential to help control health care costs.

Peter Devine, M.D., medical director for The Bell Telephone Co. of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, says, "The costs for companies that pay for treatment of employees' breast cancer in its advanced stages are tremendous when you start adding up chemotherapy, lost work time, and hospitalization.

"For a phase I breast cancer, treatment runs close to $20,000, on average. By phase III, the most advanced stage, treatment can end up costing as much as $100,000 per case. So, the object is to at least catch it at phase I."

Bell of Pennsylvania, in conjunction with The Diamond State Telephone Co. - which services Delaware - provides mammography for female employees and spouses of male employees. The two companies sponsor a mobile van that travels to work sites throughout both states. The van is operated and staffed by U.S. Healthcheck. The resulting mammograms are analyzed by radiologists at the Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, which also provides necessary follow-up with the women's personal physicians.

So far, 3,627 women have been screened for a cost to Bell Atlantic Corp. - parent company to Bell of Pennsylvania and Diamond State - of $151,241 for the exams and for administrative expenses. It split the $60 cost for the exams with employees. So far, nine cancers have been detected and treated.

National interest

Whatever the motivation, companies all over the nation are instituting health screening programs, often offered in tandem with health risk assessment programs. In the latter, self-reported employee information on health habits and medical history is analyzed and returned to the employee with appropriate health care advice.

"There's a lot of interest in and excitement about corporate health screenings, and it's grown tremendously in the past 15 years," says Miriam Jacobson, director of the Washington Business Group on Health's Prevention Leadership Forum. "In fact, nearly 66 percent of all U.S. work sites with 50 or more workers have at least one screening or wellness program in place for their employees."

Health screening can range from simple finger-prick blood tests for cholesterol to sigmoidoscopies to check for colorectal cancer, tests for diabetes, or even stress tests to check for heart ailments.

"Research shows that screenings improve the health of workers and even improve worker morale," says Jacobson. "Companies are also finding that they don't have to spend a lot of money."

How much and who does it?

In fact, costs vary over a wide range, depending on the complexity of the procedures and how much the company decides to underwrite.

When Sunseeds, Inc., a Hollister, Calif.-based corporation, decided to offer cholesterol testing to its 200 or so employees last year, the company's cost was a modest $5 per worker, 25 of whom were found to have levels above normal.

"The test and subsequent follow-up exams we've done have given our workers greater control over their health and in turn reduced our benefits exposure to cholesterol-related illnesses," reports Michael Troiano, the company's personnel manager. "And, we've shown our workers that we're actively interested in their welfare."

Sunseeds used a local provider which supplied staff and equipment. Troiano reports, "We were able to use a small conference room, and scheduled our employees throughout one work day for testing, so there'd be minimal work interruption."