Truven Health Analytics Develops Solution to Evaluate Wellness Program Effectiveness

ANN ARBOR, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Truven Health Analytics™, formerly the Healthcare business of Thomson Reuters, today announced, in collaboration with Emory University, the release of a new model to evaluate the return on investment (ROI) of population health and wellness programs. The Truven Health ROI Model is designed to help organizations identify which health risks are most prevalent and costly to their company, quantify the relationships between modifiable risk factors and medical expenditures, and develop cost-beneficial health promotion and disease prevention programs based on the results.

“I am delighted that this collaboration has leveraged our deep data and domain knowledge to deliver a model that can help improve the health and productivity of the global workforce”

The Truven Health ROI Model incorporates organization-specific demographic, health risk, and program impact data, plus data from peer-reviewed studies. It shows the relationship between health risk and cost, and predicts cost savings from programs designed to address 10 modifiable health risks: high blood glucose, obesity, physical inactivity, depression, poor nutrition/eating habits, tobacco use, high total cholesterol, high stress, high blood pressure, and high alcohol consumption. The model incorporates both prospective and retrospective estimates to calculate the financial return of a company’s wellness program.

“We know that individuals with one risk for a specific problem often have additional risks also associated with that problem. For example, there are seven combined risk factors that contribute to heart disease: obesity, high stress, tobacco use, high blood pressure, high blood glucose, high total cholesterol, and physical inactivity,” said Ron Goetzel, Ph.D., research professor at Emory University, director of the Institute for Health and Productivity Studies, and vice president of consulting and applied research at Truven Health Analytics. “Our research estimates the total costs for employees with these combined risks to be 214% higher per employee per year, compared to workers without these risk factors. By helping organizations identify the cost of modifiable health habits, we can help businesses develop programs that address the root causes.”

Truven Health Analytics, in partnership with the Emory University Institute for Health and Productivity Studies (IHPS), conducts empirical research on the relationship between health, medical costs, and worker productivity. The empirical data upon which the ROI Model is built is derived from the original Health Enhancement Research Organization (HERO) study that was published in 1998 in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. Updated findings were published in the November 2012 issue of Health Affairs.

“I am delighted that this collaboration has leveraged our deep data and domain knowledge to deliver a model that can help improve the health and productivity of the global workforce,” said Mike Boswood, president and CEO of Truven Health. “Across our organization we’re working to develop healthcare-informed predictive models to address the challenges facing organizations across the industry.”

About Truven Health Analytics:

Truven Health Analytics, formerly the Healthcare business of Thomson Reuters, delivers unbiased information, analytic tools, benchmarks, and services to the healthcare industry. Hospitals, government agencies, employers, health plans, clinicians, pharmaceutical, and medical device companies have relied on us for more than 30 years. We combine our deep clinical, financial, and healthcare management expertise with innovative technology platforms and information assets to make healthcare better by collaborating with our customers to uncover and realize opportunities for improving quality, efficiency, and outcomes. With more than 2,000 employees globally, we have major offices in Ann Arbor, Mich.; Chicago; and Denver. Advantage Suite, Micromedex, ActionOI, MarketScan, and 100 Top Hospitals are registered trademarks or trademarks of Truven Health Analytics.

For more information, please visit www.truvenhealth.com.