Biometric Health Screenings: Why You Need Them Now More Than Ever

2020 brought a heightened awareness of the importance of our health. From increased handwashing and mask-wearing to new developments around telemedicine, the healthcare industry worked hard to keep everyone safe.

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Unfortunately, 2020 also brought challenges. Despite all the positive advancements, there was a significant decrease in preventive care visits, including colonoscopies, mammograms, and more. So, what does this mean for 2021? After a year of missed visits, it’s time to get back on track and biometric health screenings can help us do that!

Why Biometric Health Screenings Are More Important Than Ever

In 2020, many people decided to forgo preventive care visits due to worries about COVID-19. The people were more likely to forgo a visit were those with one or more chronic health conditions.1 This means those individuals who needed routine care the most were not getting it and potentially worsening their health condition. In fact, from 2019 to 2020, there was a 24% decrease in colonoscopies and a 16% decrease in mammograms.2 This, coupled with the increased deaths related to things like diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease, makes it evident that something needs to be done. This is where biometric health screenings come in.

With employees returning to the workplace, onsite health screenings offer a simple, safe opportunity for employees to get tested and identify risks that can benefit from early intervention and behavior changes.

What’s Included In Biometric Health Screenings?

Biometric health screenings are clinical screenings that measure various physical characteristics.2 Often, they measure things like:

  • Height

  • Weight

  • Body Mass Index (BMI)

  • Blood pressure

  • Cholesterol

  • Blood sugar

The purpose of a screening is to provide employees with a snapshot of their overall health. Once complete, they will have a better understanding of their potential risks, which offers an opportunity to educate them on the importance of changing certain lifestyle behaviors to prevent disease. It is also important to call out that while biometric health screenings are a great first step for employees, they should still be encouraged to complete their annual preventive care visits to discuss their screening results with their doctor.

In Conclusion

With the forgone visits during 2020, now is the time to shed light on the importance of understanding one’s overall health to ensure positive behavior change can occur before the risks worsen. Offering your employees the opportunity to complete one of those preventive screenings through an onsite work event is a simple, effective way to ensure your employees stay healthy and make the necessary behavior changes to positively impact their health.

If you are ready to show your employees you care by offering a convenient biometric health screening, reach out to Alyfe at hello@alyfewellbeing.com or 866-483-4343 to talk about your options. At Alyfe, we are here to help, and we are ready to partner with you to keep you and your employees healthy.

 

Resources:

1.       Gonzalez, D., Karpman, M., Kenney, G. M., & Zuckerman, S. (2021, February). Delayed and Forgone Health Care for Nonelderly Adults during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Urban Institute. https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/103651/delayed-and-forgone-health-care-for-nonelderly-adults-during-the-covid-19-pandemic.pdf

2.       Martin, K., Kurowski, D., Given, P., Kennedy, K., & Clayton, E. (2021, April 16). The Impact of COVID-19 on the Use of Preventive Health Care. Health Care Cost Institute. https://healthcostinstitute.org/hcci-research/the-impact-of-covid-19-on-the-use-of-preventive-health-care

3.       What to Know About a Biometric Screening. (2020, March 11). Healthline. Retrieved June 7, 2021, from https://www.healthline.com/health/what-to-know-about-a-biometric-screening#what-is-it

Ashwin Lakhi