Weight Management Program Overview

Program Overview

How the Program Works | Facts You Need to Know | Compliance Management | National Guidelines | Weight Management Outcomes

How the Program Works

The Weight Management Program identifies and reaches out to individuals with clinical obesity, a complex condition that has been shown to increase risk for chronic conditions and contribute significantly to poor health and rising healthcare costs.

The Weight Management Program is an intensive, high-intervention program designed to help participants lose 10 percent of their body weight. Throughout the program, the clinician provides education and support focused on the development of confidence-building skills and the application of motivational and behavior change principles to the participant’s weight loss plan. Progress is continually tracked and celebrated to reinforce goals and keep participants focused and engaged.

The program includes education about chronic conditions, assessment of current nutritional patterns and physical activity, and collaborative, individualized goal-setting. Through ongoing coaching support focused on behavior change, participants learn to adopt behaviors scientifically proven to help individuals achieve weight loss and reduce risk for obesity-related conditions.

Interventions

The program design includes the following interventions:

• Correction of weight loss misconceptions
• Education about safe and successful weight loss programs
• Identification of prior weight loss successes and coaching on how to build upon those successes
• Improvement of motivation and self-confidence
• Promotion of weight loss and maintenance
• Encouragement of individualized goal-setting
• Provision of nutrition and physical activity counseling
• Facilitation of weight loss goals
• Reinforcement of physician-directed treatment plan

Through coaching, educational materials and additional client-contracted wellness on-line and coaching weight loss programs, Alere helps participants with obesity to learn about:

• The causes of being overweight and obesity
• The importance of weight management
• Incremental behavior change strategies
• Healthy eating
• Physical activity
• Weight management programs
• Weight loss medications
• Weight loss surgery
• Stress management
• Problem-solving techniques with positive reinforcement, healthy rewards and positive self-thoughts

Other services available within the program:

• Behavior goal-setting in the following areas:
  • Nutrition
  • Physical activity
  • Emotional well-being
  • Individual strategies to promote attainment of goals
• Access to additional Care Solutions program components such as:
  • Immunizations
  • Tobacco cessation
  • Quality of Life screening
  • Physician follow-up
• Printed educational materials
  • Weight Management clinician guide handbook
  • Healthwise® articles

Benefits

FOR PARTICIPANTS — The Weight Management Program has been developed to give participants:

• Improved quality of life
• Reduced risk of obesity-related conditions
• Reduced healthcare utilization
• Reduced disability
• A reduction of 10 percent of body weight

FOR CLIENTS — This supportive approach to care:

• Improves the health of your program participants
• Increases participation and engagement by your eligible participants in proven behavior-change programs
• Reduces your medical cost trend
• Increases productivity and reduces absenteeism and presenteesim for your organization
  Gives you the ability to track results and outcomes for your population

Evidence-Based Methodologies

Alere’s programs are based on established health behavior change models. Achieving behavioral change requires knowledge, skill and motivation. Alere’s care managers support participants through a clinical platform which aids in the consistent delivery of current clinical information. Care managers utilize behavior modification methodologies to engage participants and collaborate with them to develop personalized program goals.

Facts You Need to Know

Obesity is the second leading cause of preventable death in the United States.1 The American Obesity Association reports that among United States adults, an estimated 127 million are overweight, 60 million obese and 9 million severely obese.2

The University of Michigan’s Health Research Center found overweight and obese people have medical bills up to $1,500 more per year than those of people at healthy weights. This can cost employers $450 to $2,500 more than an employee of healthy weight. They also found that obesity can also cost employers in the area of lost productivity. About 39 million days of work each year are lost due to obesity. This equals $13 billion in costs to company bottom lines.

Loss of 10 percent of body weight in the obese individual is proven to benefit health by reducing many obesity-related risk factors.

Compliance Management

Our program was designed to help participants comply with their doctor’s plan of care, which involves several key clinical performance indicators based on national standards. During program engagement, we track adherence to these standards and report measurable results, demonstrating program impact on compliance. Examples of some of the metrics captured in outcomes reporting are:

• Weight
• Physical activity
• Blood pressure
• Reduced A1C for those with diabetes
• Quality of life
• Tobacco use

National Guidelines

We utilize nationally-recognized clinical guidelines, along with the latest clinical research and advancements in care, for each condition to drive our interventions. Alere’s Scientific Advisory Board, composed of our industry experts, guides and directs appropriate protocols for all programs.

The weight management program is based upon samples of national guidelines from:

• The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute

Weight Management Outcomes

The Alere Weight Management Program has produced the following results for our clients:

• Reduced weight for participants of 180 days or greater by 10.5 percent
• Improved presenteeism at work by 20 percent
• Reduced absenteeism by .5 percent
• Increased activities outside of work by 15 percent
• Improved emotional health by 90 percent