By Katherine Hobson
Would you expect people who work in a hospital to be sicker or healthier than the average worker?
It turns out it?s the former, according to a new analysis by Thomson Reuters ? and not because of exposure to the flu or other infectious diseases easily acquired from patients. The study finds hospital employees and their dependents are ?more likely to be diagnosed and hospitalized for chronic medical conditions, including asthma, diabetes, congestive heart failure, HIV, hypertension and mental illness.? Obesity is on the list, too.
Hospital workers and their dependents were 22% more likely than the average worker to visit an E.R. They also spend 18% more time hospitalized than the average worker and dependents.
And the higher utilization was above what disease prevalence would indicate, says Kreg Sherbine, co-author of the report. He tells the Health Blog that while the study didn?t look into the root causes of higher-than-predicted hospitalization and E.R. use, it?s reasonable to think that due to their workplace alone, hospital workers have more convenient access to those acute-care services.
?In general, there are barriers to getting care, and there are probably fewer barriers in this population,? he says.
Spending on medical care and prescription drugs for health-care workers was 10% more than for the overall worker population. Counting dependents, spending was 13% higher ? an average of $4,662 per year, vs. $4,124 for the average U.S. worker.
The analysis didn?t look at the average salary or other demographics of the hospital workers, so it?s unclear how the workers stack up compared to similarly situated folks who worked in other occupations.
The report notes that the relatively high spending represents an savings opportunity for hospitals trying to cut costs ? it calculates a 16,000-person hospital or system could save $1.5 million per year for every 1% drop in health risk.
A separate report released in January by the American Hospital Association called on hospitals to ?strive for a culture of healthy living for all employers? and to offer wellness programs and track their outcomes.
Image: iStockphoto
Article source: http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2011/09/12/hospital-workers-big-consumers-of-medical-services/
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Source: http://medicaltips.biz/2011/09/12/hospital-workers-big-consumers-of-medical-services/
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