Health Risk Appraisal

Health Risk Appraisal

Health Risk Appraisal (HRA): Important Considerations

Before implementing a health risk appraisal (HRA) program, you need to consider several things. Do not forget, that you can also seek assistance from a wellness consultant for additional advice and recommendations.

Health Risk Appraisal (HRA): Cost

Before getting started with your corporate wellness program, you decided a budget, right? If not, be sure to do this prior to you go any further.

Cost typically depends on the vendor, type, and reporting structure chosen for your group. The majority of health risk assessment providers will charge between $5-$15 per participant.

Some that provide wellness quotes will also include other services like health screenings, health coaching, and consulting which is a better option and value for your money. If possible find a corporate wellness company that offers all services combined which alleviates some frustration for you and the health promotion committee members.

Health Risk Appraisal (HRA): Time and Frequency

Find time that will work best for your employees to participate in the health risk appraisal process. You should select a time where there is plenty of opportunity for all to participate. How often you will implement the health risk assessment will also affect your budget. It’s recommended that you re-assess your employee population every 1-2 years to evaluate change.

Health Risk Appraisal (HRA): What Features Are Included?

Examples include report options for group and participant data, options for sending individual reports to employees (even physicians), what employee health screening tests will be included (biometric data, blood pressure and blood test data), options for customization, web-based or hard-copy availability, data trending reports, and modifiable confidentiality clauses. These are numerous other types questions but these are the basics questions that you must ask when determining a health risk appraisal (HRA) provider.

Health Risk Appraisal (HRA): Wellness Incentives for Participation

It will be a difficult task to maximize worker participation rates but the inclusion of wellness incentives and/or wellness rewards does help. Depending on your wellness budget and overall strategic plan, think about what types of incentives you can provide employees for their time in helping you out.

Wellness incentives may include money (cash, bonuses, gift cards), vacation time / time off, and medical insurance premium reductions. The days of making available a t-shirt and water bottle for their efforts are history and are not longer effective health promotion strategies for motivating change among employees.

Health Risk Appraisal (HRA): Type and Mode of Feedback

Health risk appraisal (HRA) reports vary in the format in which feedback is provided. Options generally available include internet-based reports, mailed printed reports, and instant computer based health risk reports.

Select a health risk reporting structure that’s best suited for your specific employee population. Make certain that the information is totally confidential and be sure to remove any chances of another person seeing individual data.  This is critical for all wellness programs for both legal and employee morale reasons.

We recommend that you select a health risk appraisal provider that also provides health education and support like health and wellness coaching, health and wellness newsletters, wellness presentations, and behavior modification / behavior change programs in conjunction with the health risk appraisal. This will ensure continuity of information provided to your wellness program.