health management

Specialty pharmacy refers to the latest generation of high-tech, usually biologically manufactured, drugs that are used for diseases such as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and cancer treatments. On average, these drugs cost about $150 a day for each specialty drug user, and some can be as high as $500 per day for a maintenance drug or $700 per day for acute medications. The annual cost per specialty drug is about $4,000 a year for each user.

Centers of Excellence

By Ronald P. O’Keefe

“We must use time as a tool, not as a crutch."
– President John Fitzgerald Kennedy

“Time is the most valuable thing a man can spend."
– Greek Philosopher Theophrastus

You’ve probably heard these catchy quotations on time. But why don’t we ever have enough of it? And how often do you leave work only to ask yourself, “What did I get accomplished today?"

Whether in the workplace or at home, time is your most valuable asset. And learning how to improve time management is the key to a more productive and reduced stress life.

New Hampshire Local Government Center (LGC) has invested heavily in worksite health and risk management since 2004. This long-term strategy was targeted to reduce costs associated with employee and retiree risk and modifiable health behaviors. Reduced healthcare consumption may shrink short-term costs but, if it’s at the expense of long-term costs from poorly controlled chronic conditions, then LGC and its member groups would be even less well off.

This year’s American College of Sports Medicine Summit, held March 24–27 in Atlanta, placed major emphasis on worksite health promotion and how to move employees to a higher level of wellness. Keynote speakers and workshop presenters highlighted topics ranging from how to develop wellness programs on a limited budget to creating a culture of health and developing programming using the FIT (Fact-based, Integrated across the organization and Targeted to need) design.

The FIT Model

In the past two years, New Hampshire Local Government Center’s (LGC) HealthTrust has partnered with several other large public purchasers, including the State of New Hampshire Employee Health Benefits Program, the University System of New Hampshire and the New Hampshire School Health Care Coalition to determine ways to lower the cost of healthcare while improving quality and the health and wellness of all employees.

Cost Variations

If you or any of your employees are smokers, consider quitting this month in conjunction with the American Cancer Society’s Great American Smokeout®, which is traditionally observed on the third Thursday in November. It could be the impetus you need to embark on a healthier lifestyle.

First you’ll need to answer this important question: Are you ready to quit smoking?

To help determine your readiness to quit, select one of the bold-ed statements which best describes your situation and follow the bulleted steps beneath it to get on a smoke-free path.

By Dr. Shannon Mills

What are the benefits of regular professional dental cleanings?

“Watch your mouth," the saying goes, and science is turning up ever more reasons to heed that advice literally. Preventing gum disease (periodontitis), the leading cause of adult tooth loss, is gaining new urgency as research shows that gum disease can contribute to illnesses such as diabetes, heart disease, stroke and pneumonia. The culprit, scientists believe, is a spillover of bacteria and inflammatory agents from the mouth into the bloodstream, which bustles them off to the rest of the body. Related problems include these:

Diabetes

Editor’s Note: This article presents a review of risk management information from Ergonomics: The Study of Work, a report issued in 2000 by the U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

By Savannah Arthur