Integrating Prevention into Health and Well-Being Solutions
By Tyler Amell, PhD
Adjunct Faculty,
Pacific Coast University for Workplace Health Sciences
The old saying that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure continues to ring true for our own individual health, as well as the health of our organizations.
Prevention is even more important today, given the COVID-19 global pandemic, and the emphasis on people’s health in the workplace. Healthcare and other frontline and essential workers may not be able to control their risk of exposure to the virus by working remotely. People with co-morbidities or pre-existing conditions are at increased risk of hospitalization and death from COVID-19. The risk increases from 300% to as much as 500% for chronic conditions such as hypertension, obesity, type II diabetes, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.1
Chronic conditions drive an estimated 90% of the $3.5 trillion in annual healthcare expenditures in the United States.2 Approximately 60% of U.S. citizens have at least one chronic condition, and 42% have two or more. Those with chronic conditions have more emergency room visits, inpatient stays, outpatient visits, higher pharmacy costs, with total medical costs an average of 1,400% higher.2 A recent report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine3 concludes that available treatment methods for chronic conditions are improving, and many conditions are treatable with sometimes limited impact on quality and length of life.
However, in addition to be being treatable with evidence-informed care pathways, many of these chronic conditions are in fact preventable, including certain types of cancer, type II diabetes, and heart disease (an estimated 40%, 80%, and 80%, respectively, of all cases). Similarly, low back pain, a commonly cited cause of work disability, is also preventable in some cases. Chronic conditions are not limited to these physical health examples. Psychological, mental, or behavioral health conditions may also be chronic as well as preventable. An estimated 38% of major depressive episode cases are preventable with currently available methods.4
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