Understand Your Environment

coffee sitting by paper graph

Before you launch activities to prevent and manage diabetes as part of a new or existing worksite wellness program consider the following.

Current health status, such as cholesterol levels, body mass index, blood pressure
Current levels of physical activity
Current eating habits
Current diabetes or prediabetes diagnoses
Other risk factors that could affect the health of an employee such as stress level

Existing support for people with or at risk for diabetes
Community support that can supplement the program outside of the work environment such as local fitness centers like the YMCA
Health Plan provisions
Current company policies

1. The CDC offers the Healthier Worksite Initiative to help businesses plan and implement worksite wellness.
  Learn more about worksite wellness and safety from the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
  The Centers for Disease Control also has resources within the Total Worker Health Initiative.
  The National Healthy Worksite Program [PDF - 237 KB] from CDC also provides additional resources.
2. The CDC Worksite Health Scorecard [PDF - 3.6 MB] is a tool designed to help employers assess the extent to which they have implemented evidence-based health promotion interventions or strategies in their worksites to prevent heart disease, stroke, and related conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, and obesity.

There are so many companies offering health assessments and employee health surveys. I just can't afford their prices. Are there any reputable free options?
Answer:
There are surveys available in the public domain from the CDC. These surveys are provided in the form of Widgets which can be found here.
Are there any HIPAA issues related to the review of employee health records?
Answer:
There may be issues related to HIPAA so it is best to consult your HR department prior to reviewing health records. Additional information about HIPAA regulations can be found from the U.S. Department of Health here.
What benefits should be part of our health plan for people with diabetes?
Answer:
Information about insurance coverage for people with diabetes is available from the American Diabetes Association. The Association also publishes the Standards of Care annually delineating optimal care for people with diabetes. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also publishes a checklist for people with diabetes to keep track of their diabetes health care.

Conduct an employee health assessment or health survey. Resources can be found from the CDC. Follow this link to various widgets that you can use with employees to promote and assess health.
Review employee health claims. Learn how to do this at Review Claims.
Review your health plan coverage to be sure that adequate coverage exists for people with or at risk for diabetes. Learn what coverage is needed at Review Benefits Coverage.
Calculate the cost of diabetes and other related health conditions at the ACOEM Blueprint for Health.