Annual PT Visit and Employee Wellness

Question 1

what does the APTA recommend regarding annual visits?

Answer 1

the APTA recommends that all individuals visit a PT at least annually to optimize movement and promote health, wellness, and fitness; and slow progression of impairments of body functions and structures, activity limitations, and participation restrictions

Question 2

T/F: PTs have education, experience, and expertise to provide broad health screenings and make appropriate referrals as needed

Answer 2

TRUE

Question 3

what are the benefits of an annual visit for patients/clients?

Answer 3

1. provides baseline health stats
2. primary, secondary, and tertiary screening opportunities
3. gain education on healthy lifestyle habits and disease risk
4. gain education on management of any current or potential conditions

Question 4

what are the benefits of an annual visit for PTs?

Answer 4

1. builds relationship with potential future patients/clients
2. helps retain current patients/clients
3. builds reputation in the community
4. demonstrates skills of PTs
5. diversifies income string by providing service independent of third-party payers

Question 5

alist several steps that would help implement an annual visit

Answer 5

1. access annual visit forms
2. determine referral network
3. determine how you will track results
4. determine payment for services
5. practice conducting the visit
6. market the annual visit
7. consider best practices

Question 6

what is a wellness program?

Answer 6

an organized program intended to assist employees and their family members in making voluntary behavior changes which reduce their health risks and enhance their individual productivity

Question 7

wellness programs are usually designed to do what two things?

Answer 7

1. keep healthy people healthy
2. help unhealthy people change their behaviors to reduce or eliminate their risk factors

Question 8

how is wellness addressed through employee health plans?

Answer 8

1. Preventative care
2. Health and Wellness Coaching
3. Disease Management

Question 9

what preventative care is available through all health plans?

Answer 9

1. routine exams
2. routine lab work for cholesterol, glucose, etc.
3. flu shots, immunizations
4. preventative cancer screenings

Question 10

when is health coaching typically offered?

Answer 10

upon completion of the online health risk assessment

• intended for members who would like help controlling BP, managing weight, increasing physical activity, lowering cholesterol, eating better, smoking cessation and reducing stress

Question 11

describe disease management as part of a health plan

Answer 11

1. available to help members with chronic illness better control their disease
   
   1. teaches the member to take better care of themselves
   2. teaches them ways to reduce the complications associated with their disease
   3. encourages compliance with meds
2. enrollment in disease management programs is typically initiated by outreach from the carrier to the member
   
   1. outreach is triggered by medical claims and prescription drug claims

Question 12

list other tools related to employee wellness

Answer 12

1. online health risk assessment
2. fitness reimbursements
3. discounted gym memberships
4. weight loss reimbursements
5. discounts at weight loss programs (e.g., weight watchers, jenny craig, etc.)
6. tobacco cessation support

Question 13

what are the benefits of employee wellness for their employer?

Answer 13

1. tax incentives and grants available under federal health care legislation
2. improve employee health behaviors
3. healthy employees cost less
4. healthy employees have less days absent
5. health employee stay with the company
6. improve productivity
7. reduced injuries and elevated health risks
8. improved employee morale
9. establishes a health culture

Question 14

what is presenteeism?

Answer 14

poor employee productivity; physically being at work but not working

Question 15

what does research suggest about absenteeism?

Answer 15

1. employees with good health behaviors have lower absenteeism
2. employees who can control their stress have lower absenteeism
3. employees with healthy BP, cholesterol, and glucose have lower absenteeism
4. employees who are not overweight or obese have lower absenteeism

Question 16

what are the weaknesses of wellness programs?

Answer 16

1. wellness programs consistently have shown they are not great at helping people lose weight and keep it off
2. does not mean this should be a goal, just do not get your hopes up
3. likely reason
   
   1. unhealthy culture that surrounds most of us makes it extremely difficult to lose weight
   2. most people in the US and in industrialized world gain weight every year

Question 17

list tools for wellness outside of health plans

Answer 17

1. biometric screenings - cholesterol, BP, glucose, and BMI
2. online calculators - tools to assist in managing process
3. activity trackers - tools to assist in monitoring progress
4. educational programs
5. onsite smoking cessation programs
6. health fairs/awareness campaigns
7. employee assistance program
8. fitness challenges

Question 18

what are activity centered incentives?

Answer 18

rewards for participation

Question 19

what are results-oriented incentives?

Answer 19

rewards for achieved/maintained positive results

Question 20

T/F: majority of employers who offer wellness programs use penalties rather than rewards

Answer 20

FALSE

they use rewards rather than penalties

Question 21

rewards can be linked to what health achievements?

Answer 21

1. completion of a health risk appraisal
2. participation in a tobacco cessation program
3. attendance at a weight management/nutrition counseling class
4. actually losing weight and keeping it off
5. frequency of talking to a health coach
6. reducing cholesterol to a normal range

Question 22

what are the 5 dimensions for creating a health culture?

Answer 22

1. shared values - priorities
2. cultural norms - expectations
3. touch points - policies and procedures that influence norms
4. peer support - employees helping each other
5. climate - morale and teamwork

Question 23

what is included in the framework for successful wellness programs?

Answer 23

1. obtain leadership support
2. ID a wellness leader and champions
3. target known health risk factors in the population
4. know what is available to employees for wellness support
5. remove barriers that impede success of the worksite wellness program
6. use incentives along with behavioral economics to maximize participation as well as motivate behavior change
7. keep the program fresh
8. develop a brand

Question 24

what goes into establishing a healthy culture?

Answer 24

1. collaboratively establish a shared “vision” of a healthy workplace with a strategy to achieve the vision and aligns with the business strategy
2. create a clear roadmap to achieving your vision
3. a successful initiative needs to think in terms of collective success at the initiative level, leadership level, as well as individual level

Question 25

what are the steps in establishing a health culture?

Answer 25

1. envision the desired state
2. assess the current state relative to vision
3. establish metrics
4. develop an action plan
5. implement
6. monitor

Question 26

measuring program effectiveness

Answer 26

1. costs
   
   1. plan costs
   2. utilization
   3. productivity measures
   4. return on investment
2. desired behaviors
   
   1. preventive
   2. engagement in wellness incentives/benefits
   3. workforce health measures
   4. optimal care decisions
3. employee perceptions and satisfaction
   
   1. turnover
   2. focus groups
   3. surveys
   4. ongoing feedback