One size does not fit all

Prevention is better than cure, and no more so than when it comes to companies losing valuable executives to illness, temporarily or permanently. Implementing a pro-active strategy (prevention) can bring the cost to company and loss of income down substantially.

Occupational healthcare is a well-developed science and a field in which South Africa is a world leader. The responsibility of employers to provide managed healthcare to their workforce is as firmly established in this country as it is in leading Western nations such as the US, Canada and the UK.

With the management of HIV/AIDS now a top priority for occupational healthcare in South Africa, no employer can be ignorant of the ethical motives and cost benefits which underpin today's trends in employee wellness.

Lifestyle and stress

Stress is a major contributor to illness and is a result of rushed and multi-faceted lifestyles. Women in particular are subject to stress as their traditional nurturing roles shift to also include corporate positions and responsibilities.

The past ten years have seen an increasing lifestyle emphasis in employee healthcare, with worksite health programmes that address a wide range of lifestyle issues, including nutrition, exercise, stress reduction, smoking and alcohol and drug abuse. Studies in the US show that as much as 55% of health care costs are a direct result of lifestyle related illnesses. In fact, ‘Wellness Centres' now come in a bewildering array of options. Emerging from this is a trend in more personal and exclusive disease recognition and prevention, for employees at the executive level.

Exclusive care

Key executives in the corporate sector play a central role in the profitability and growth of their companies. Such people are hard to find, expensive to retain and, considering their hand-on experience and company specific expertise, even more difficult to replace. To assist companies to retain these high-value employees, Harley Street created a medical service that is far removed from the average one-size-fits-all occupational healthcare.

Dr Alastair Clark of Execucare points out that there is a need for this kind of exclusive attention which lets the executive know he or she is valued. "Senior personnel appreciate the opportunity to develop a relationship with a top physician who personally takes care of all the medical assessments, from the examination to the feedback and follow up treatment or monitoring," says Clark.

"Add to this a luxurious environment with state-of-the-art medical equipment and perks such as the provision of refreshments and ablution facilities – and you're looking at high end medical care which is not offered at medical aid rates!"

Statistics

"The statistics cannot be ignored," says Clark. "Preventable illness makes up approximately 80% of the burden of illness, 90% of all healthcare costs and accounts for eight of the nine leading causes of death. Dealing with such problems after they have occurred becomes expensive. Execucare believes that preventative medical intervention makes common sense. Unlike a medical aid or medical insurance policy, the return on investment lies in the prevention.

"The cost benefits of such a service are enormous," says Clark. "A top-end executive health assessment is likely to cost around R2 000 per employee per annum. If a company employs, for instance, 50 executives and managers who are eligible for this level of medical assessment, the total cost will be R100 000 per year. This seems steep until you calculate the cost of one executive taking a month's sick leave – all you need is one undetected case of prostate cancer!"