Page 6 - Copyright 2013 - Pamplin Media Group

Page 6 September 25, 2013 Senior Lifestyles
By now you’ve probably heard the mes-
sage loud and clear: Staying well
through preventive steps is cheaper,
healthier and easier for everyone than waiting
until a health condition becomes an issue.
From the government to your own employ-
er, many organizations spend millions of dol-
lars every year on wellness programs aimed at
supporting individuals’ efforts to stay healthy.
These programs can be a great tool if they are
easy to use, engaging, and provide reliable, un-
derstandable information on wellness.
Wellness programs aren’t just for those with
red flag factors for chronic diseases such as
high blood pressure or tobacco use. Rather,
wellness programs are beneficial to everyone
including otherwise healthy people who may
simply be trying to lead a healthier lifestyle by
increased exercise, weight loss or managing
stress.
In fact, the concept of “wellness” goes far
beyond merely keeping up with your annual
physical and taking medications to manage
chronic conditions. Wellness encompasses eat-
ing right, regularly exercising, avoiding un-
healthy activities such as smoking, and being
an active participant in your health decision-
making process.
Wellness programs, often provided through
employer-sponsored health insurance or
through employers themselves, provide partici-
pants with information and tools to help avoid
illness and injury. But, the path to good health
is different for everyone and it is important that
programs are not only designed to help the
right people at the right time but also to engage
people in a personalized, impactful way.
For example, a typical wellness program
begins with an assessment to better understand
physical and emotional health, capacity for
change, work-life satisfaction, and health risk.
It then reports on personal strengths and oppor-
tunities, offers suggested goals and actions,
provides people with the tools they need to re-
alize their own personal lifestyle goals and in-
corporates fun group activities to engage par-
ticipants for the long term.
In order to truly make a difference, a well-
ness program needs to be relevant to the people
using it. Participating in a wellness program
can be useful, as long as the program supports
not only those who are well and maintaining
their current level of health or improving it, but
also those who are ill and managing their care.
If you would like the chance to make a
wellness program work for you, here are a few
steps and guidelines to help:
— Find out what your employer offers.
Many support wellness programs through their
health insurers, but others supplement those
plans with specialized programs. Perhaps your
employer offers free exercise or stress reduc-
tion classes, or offers a stipend for health club
membership as part of your benefits. If your
employer doesn’t currently offer any kind of
wellness program, ask for one. Keeping em-
ployees healthy is in a company’s best interest.
— Learn your program’s tools. Most pro-
grams offer help lines that you can call and dis-
cuss your specific needs and concerns, and re-
ceive information on available tools to help
you. Your plan administrator may also be able
to provide information. Or you can check the
program provider’s website to learn more.
— Discuss your wellness program with
your doctor and ask for his feedback on what
tools might be of most use to you. Look for
tools that address your specific needs, age and
lifestyle. For example, if weight management
is a concern, your wellness program’s nutri-
tional counseling might be helpful. If you’re
looking for ways to become more active, ask if
your program offers advice on exercise.
— Take advantage of incentives. Some pro-
grams offer incentives for successful participa-
tion in weight loss or smoking cessation pro-
grams. These incentives are a great tool for
tracking your progress and keeping yourself
motivated to achieve your goals.
Brandpoint Media
Making wellness programs work for your wallet and lifestyle
Exercise is but one component of a wellness program. It also
encompasses eating right, avoiding unhealthy activities and
participating in your health decision-making process.
America has a serious drug problem, but
it’s not the one you might be thinking
about. The problem is not illegal drugs
or drug abuse, but rather an alarming percent-
age of Americans who do not take their pre-
scriptions as instructed. Approximately
125,000 deaths per year in the United States
can be attributed to medication non-adherence,
according to the National Pharmaceutical
Council.
The problem of non-adherence is not new,
but it is getting a closer look as experts seek to
reduce costs and improve the effectiveness and
efficiency of our health system. Data suggests
that roughly half of the 2 billion prescriptions
filled each year in America are not taken cor-
rectly. For particularly vulnerable Americans
such as the elderly and those suffering from
multiple chronic conditions, adherence rates
are even worse. Even with such life-threaten-
ing diseases such as cancer, patients are non-
adherent to medication.
The impact of non-adherence, beyond pa-
tient outcomes, is a significant source of waste
in our healthcare system. Unnecessary medical
costs resulting from patients not taking their
medication as prescribed, such as ER visits,
hospitalizations and extra tests, cost our sys-
tem more than $300 billion annually, accord-
ing to the New England Healthcare Institute.
Many factors contribute to poor medication
adherence. In some patients, non-adherence is
a choice, while in others non-adherence is
quite unintentional. For some people, a lack of
symptoms, coupled with denial, high out-of-
pocket costs or concerns over potential side ef-
fects make them less inclined to fill their pre-
scriptions and adhere to medications. Esti-
mates are that as many as 22 percent of all pre-
scriptions are not picked up from the pharma-
cy.
For these patients, better adherence starts at
the doctor’s office. Physicians, nurses and
other caregivers can help by better educating
the patient about the importance of following
directions, and by creating a treatment plan
that fits patients’ needs and lifestyles. Empha-
sizing the details on how and why patients
should take their medications properly, includ-
ing details on possible interactions and refill
requirements, can be a good first line of de-
fense against the problem of non-adherence.
However, experts also agree that a substan-
tial portion of the non-adherence problem is
inadvertent. The accidental misuse of prescrip-
tion medications is largely a result of com-
plexity, confusion and general forgetfulness.
“Many patients are dealing with multiple
medications, all in nearly identical containers,
but each one with a different set of dosage in-
structions,” said Ian Salditch, CEO of Medi-
cine-On-Time. “It’s a recipe for mistakes – all
of which could be addressed through better
prescription packaging.”
There are a variety of high-tech monitoring
systems aimed at improving adherence, in-
cluding pills with digestible sensors. To date,
strict monitoring has been seen by consumers
as being overly intrusive. Solutions such as fi-
nancial incentives and greater screening offer
promise. But Salditch has focused on the low-
tech, common sense approach of simplified
packaging and has achieved encouraging re-
sults.
Using Medicine-On-Time, pharmacists will
sort and organize medications into personal-
ized pill cups labeled with the day, date and
time to take them. Pharmacists provide pill
cups to the patient organized into medication
calendars. In addition, the packaging is de-
signed to be easily opened by the frail and el-
derly. Brandpoint Media
America’s other drug problem: Prescriptions not taken
Seniors don’t adhere to their
doctors orders for a number
of reasons, including com-
plexity, confusion and gen-
eral forgetfulness. Some are
dealing with multiple med-
ications, often in nearly
identical containers, but
with different dosage
instructions. The advent of
systems like Medicine-On-
Time, which simplifies pre-
scription packaging, allow
seniors to adhere to their
doctors orders more simply
and with less stress.