By Michael Cox
Redwood Employee Benefits Services
IN our first article of 2019, we looked at the emergence and acceptance of Digital Virtual GP usage across age groups from Millennials to Baby Boomers, and the increasing popularity and demand for this type of facility.
Every review of future of worldwide healthcare policy indicates that pharmaceutical companies will aim to address prevention rather than treatment.
These major pharmaceutical companies will focus on total healthcare packages, with emphasis on what is called ‘in life testing and live licensing’ with drugs so sophisticated that they will be individually tailored to the individual’s genetic make-up and family history.
While this type of treatment is merely a generation off for the current population, there is a growing self-awareness and recognition amongst workforces, that they have going to have to work longer, that they will continue to live longer (men 79.2 years/women 82.9 years) and as a result be more susceptible to illnesses as they age.
It is all too self-apparent for these individuals they can only continue to work if they are fit to so.
What can companies do to support their employees and provide them with a pro-active approach that will provide peace of mind and early diagnosis of a medical condition?
Over the last few years, innovative cancer screening companies, using the very latest image processing and diagnosis tools to detect early warning signs for conditions such as skin cancer, where the technology allows detection of changes to moles and pigmented lesions, not visible to the naked eye.
In fact, many businesses are taking it upon themselves to actively offer pro-active screening for multiple cancer conditions that impact employees either through mobile on-site facilities, home test kits or regular annual screening.
The phrase ‘prevention is better than cure’ may be a 400 years old but these days, with advances in medical treatment, early detection invariably leads to earlier intervention, which, statistically, leads to individuals having more successful outcomes with longer healthier and more productive lifespans.
Businesses are recognising this approach to medical care is a successful one for their staff and indeed their families. At Redwood, we have the experience to help a client design a reactive, robust and dedicated health and wellbeing proposition that incorporates prevention, as well as primary and secondary care that employees are so keen to see being offered as part of their benefit package.
Offering appropriate vital and challenging role for an employer, – so, let us help you make the right choices.
For more details contact Michael Cox – senior health and wellbeing advisor – Redwood Employee Benefits Services Ltd on 01604 661144 or email
