Center for Health Care Advancement

Population Health

Improving health outcomes for the populations you serveA few high-risk patients can disproportionately use health care services while others lack the care they need.

To deliver and pay for services that maximize population health, you need to find and assess those subgroups that are at highest risk and develop targeted interventions to improve their health. Our experts use the latest quantitative and qualitative methods plus on-the-ground expertise to do just that.

To help you achieve your objectives, we can pinpoint and help you engage patients, providers, and health care systems. Once populations are identified, we can recommend how and where health care organizations can intervene using incentives, care coordination, and ancillary services and support. We provide best practices for metrics, reporting, and patient experience with real-time data integration.

We believe that using data and human-centered design principles allows organizations to capitalize on opportunities in health care delivery, financing, workforce, and technology.

Areas of Expertise

RISK STRATIFICATION AND ADJUSTMENT

HEALTH COMMUNICATIONS AND HEALTH LITERACY

PATIENT ENGAGEMENT STRATEGIES

PROGRAMS ADDRESSING CHRONIC CONDITIONS

QUALITY MEASURE DEVELOPMENT AND REPORTING

RTI International is an independent, nonprofit research institute dedicated to improving the human condition. Clients rely on us to answer questions that demand an objective and multidisciplinary approach—one that integrates expertise across the social and laboratory sciences, engineering, and international development. We believe in the promise of science, and we are inspired every day to deliver on that promise for the good of people, communities, and businesses around the world. For more information, visit www.rti.org.

RTI International is a registered trademark and a trade name of Research Triangle Institute. The RTI logo is a registered trademark of Research Triangle Institute.

RTI 12633 R1 0519

healthcare.rti.org

Quantifying the financial impact of obesity can inform and improve employee wellness programs

Obesity is a known and growing problem worldwide. In the United States, estimates of the financial impact of obesity amount to $150 billion a year in medical expenses. For employers, it is estimated that the associated costs top $73 billion a year. But for many companies, expenses attributable to obesity are difficult to estimate.

Obesity is usually accompanied by a wide array of health complications that require costly treatments or therapies. Because wellness programs come with their own associated costs, companies need a tool that translates data into decision-driving information. Forward-thinking organizations continue to look for ways to (1) quantify the magnitude of the obesity challenge and (2) assess the options and benefits of providing interventions and incentives to better manage the health of employees.

Our researchers sought to better understand the complex relationship among weight, obesity comorbid conditions, medical expenditures, and work loss. RTI developed the Obesity Cost Calculator™ to help estimate the medical cost and work loss attributable to obesity. An employer can use the tool to estimate the costs of obesity based on user-provided characteristics of the company. The results include estimated medical expenditures and the dollar value of increased absenteeism resulting from obesity.

Obesity Cost CalculatorTM

Contact Us healthcare@rti.org

Kaajal SinghPrincipal, Client Engagementkaajalsingh@rti.org

CASE STUDY

Organizations benefit from using the Obesity Cost Calculator™ by understanding where challenges lie within the organization—from both a cost and wellness perspective—which allows them to tailor efforts, such as incorporating or modifying wellness programs and early intervention strategies, to improve the health of their employees.