Disease management as a part of total health and productivity management

When adults become ill they typically use more than just medical care servi ces. They often miss time from work or incur periods of short term disabili ty. In some cases, they also use workers' compensation, occupational health or long term disability programme services and, in some situations, sick e mployees may attend work but be substantially less productive. Disease mana gement programme vendors can enhance their services by managing the full sp ectrum of health and productivity programme services that people use, not j ust medical care services. Health and productivity management (HPM) refers to the coordination of the many types of services that employees use. These services include medical c are, disability programmes, workers compensation programmes, employee assis tance programmes, absenteeism and occupational safety programmes. HPM also refers to activities meant to enhance on-the-job productivity. HPM requires that disease management programme managers take a broader view of health a nd disease management than is typical. These programme activities may inclu de deciding which disease(s) to address as priorities; developing treatment guidelines that focus on more than just clinical care; choosing appropriat e and relevant outcome measures to address; implementing interventions that enhance productivity, improve health, and limit unnecessary medical care u se; and supporting continuous quality improvement efforts. Considering these activities under an HPM umbrella requires a focus on prod uctivity and quality of life that will add substantial value to the service s offered by disease management programmes. The HPM approach will be more c ostly initially, but should prove more cost effective in the long term, sin ce it considers a much wider array of potential benefits from health and di sease management.