Incentivised health and wellbeing programmes can reduce healthcare costs and admissions, a new study has revealed.
The retrospective study over five years of more than 300,000 participants showed active members had decreased hospitalisations and claims costs.
An independent five-year study conducted on behalf of PruHealth's South Africa-based parent company, Discovery Health, is one of the first to demonstrate a strong correlation between member engagement in incentivised health programmes and subsequent low hospital admissions.
It examined the gym visits and participation in fitness activities of over 300,000 Discovery members in South Africa over a three year period and the probability of hospital admission and costs of hospital admission in the subsequent two years.
The findings included:
• members who remained highly active had a significantly lower probability of hospital admission and lower hospital costs if they were admitted compared with those who remained inactive;
• those who became more active had significantly lower probability of admission and also lower costs if admitted than those who maintained their current status;
• hospital costs were 6% lower in those members who moved from being inactive to active, and 16% lower in members who were active throughout the study compared to those who remained inactive;
• increased frequency of gym visits was associated with a lower probability of hospital admissions - two additional gym visits per week reduced the chance of admission by 13%;
• those consistently inactive had the worst outcomes on both measures.
Dr Katherine Tryon, head of clinical vitality at PruHealth, was pleased with the results and its potential impact on the private medical insurance (PMI) sector.
"For the first time we now have concrete evidence that a comprehensive, incentive-based health promotion programme can motivate people to change their behaviour and increase participation in physical activity over time.
"Furthermore, we can show this translates into positive benefits for both individuals as hospital admissions are reduced, and for the PMI industry as lower hospital admission costs are subsequently generated.
"In a time of ever increasing healthcare costs, this is a significant finding for all concerned with reducing the overall healthcare burden on both a national and international level," she added.
