When it comes to handling behavioral health at the workplace, employers have a lot more at stake, than they plan for. According to a recent study by Medco Health Solutions Inc., a New Jersey based Pharmaceutical research company, in 2007 and 2008 U.S. adults spent more money on antidepressants and other psychiatric drugs than any drug category Another study showed that over 53% of U.S. adults suffered from at least one behavioral health issue, which led to 32 days of disability during the year.
What is of concern is that the healthcare provided by the employer automatically refers the employee to a general practitioner who is not properly qualified to diagnose and treat mental health issues, and hence a prescription could be completely unnecessary or even harmful.
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If a patient goes to a general practitioner and is misdiagnosed, no one would know.In fact most health insurance plans by law are not obligated to keep that information confidential, and reporting of such information could not only affect future health insurance rates, and lead to unemployment, it could also leave the employee completely uninsured in the near future.The answer then is not to automatically send our employees to receive care from a physician. It is highly likely that through proper analysis and diagnosis at the HR level in connection to an employee coach, common work issues, such as low productivity, tardiness, absenteeism, etc. could be properly diagnosed at the employee level. Effective professional coaching can analytically, and in a private arena, diagnose different areas of an employee’s work, such as work-life balance, relationship 360, job design, etc. and provide a much higher ROI to both the employee and the employer. Furthermore, utilizing wellness program options as alternatives in combination with coaching saves stress and healthcare insurance costs. After all an organization is as good as its employees, and medicated employees don’t necessarily equate productive, happy employees should be the desired result.
