A Checklist for Better Health

Improve the health of your employees with preventive health reminders

Are you and your employees taking all the right preventive steps to wellness? Unfortunately, you may not realize what you're missing or how screenings can impact your overall health plan.

As an example, many problems identified at annual health screenings are chronic diseases, such as diabetes and cancer.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 75 percent of medical spending dollars in the nation go toward chronic disease management. In 2010 alone, cancer cost $157 billion, while heart disease and stroke cost $315.4 billion. In 2012, diagnosed cases of diabetes cost $245 billion, including $69 billion in lost productivity.

Although your health plan may not pay for all of the recommended services and treatments, adopting at least some can help lower your benefit costs.

What screenings should children be getting?

• Infants who leave the hospital less than 48 hours after birth need to be seen by a doctor within two to four days. The baby may get vaccines or added screenings for tuberculin or sickle cell anemia, if appropriate.
• A baby's blood count should be checked once between nine and 12 months.
• Lead testing performed at 12 and 24 months, unless you're sure the child hasn't been around lead.
• Babies can be tested for autism at 18 and 24 months.
• From age 2 to 10, children should have an annual check for height, weight, body mass index (BMI), development and behavior, vision and hearing. Screenings for tuberculin and urine testing can be administered, if appropriate.
• Starting at age 3, oral and dental health needs to be added and blood pressure should be checked.
• From ages 11 to 18, annual checkups remain similar.

With adult women, what are some key screenings?

• Annual screenings should check height, weight, BMI and blood pressure.
• Cholesterol should be checked every five years starting at age 20, with more screenings as necessary.
• A breast exam should be conducted every one to three years until age 40, when an annual doctor's exam needs to be supplemented with a mammogram.
• For cervical cancer, women should be checked every three years from ages 21-29 and every five years have a Pap test plus HPV test from ages 30 to 65. If the last three Pap tests where normal within the previous 10 years, women can stop screening for cervical cancer at age 65.
• Sexually active women ages 25 and younger need to be screened for chlamydia.
• Colorectal cancer and osteoporosis can start to be tested for around age 50.
• Women born between 1945 and 1965 need to be screened once for Hepatitis C.
• Pregnant women should see their doctor of OB/GYN in their first three months. Some tests or screenings that could be administered during the pregnancy include diabetes during pregnancy, blood count, Hepatitis B, HIV, Rubella immunity, Rh(D) blood type and antibody testing, syphilis, urinalysis, amniocentesis, chorionic villus sampling, special blood tests and ultrasound tests. Pregnant women should be vaccinated with Tdap vaccine, as well as possibly an inactivated flu vaccine.

What are some important screenings for adult males?

• Annual screenings should check height, weight, BMI and blood pressure.
• Cholesterol should be checked every five years starting at age 20, with more screenings as necessary.
• Colorectal cancer and prostate cancer can start to be tested for around age 50.
• Men born between 1945 and 1965 need to be screened once for Hepatitis C.
• Those ages 65 to 75 who have ever smoked should be checked once for abdominal aortic aneurysm.

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