Workplace wellness programs can flag chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

WASHINGTON — As workplace wellness programs become more common among U.S. employers, benefit managers and their wellness vendors are uniquely positioned to help promote early diagnosis and treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, a health conference speaker said.

“Every employer and indeed every employee in America needs to know what COPD is and make sure that they're focused on getting people diagnosed as early as possible,” John Walsh, co-founder and president of the COPD Foundation, said Monday during a panel discussion at the 19th annual National Business Coalition on Health conference in Washington.

COPD refers to chronic diseases of the lungs, including emphysema and chronic bronchitis. Approximately 12 million Americans have been diagnosed with a form of COPD, and another estimated 12 million have the disease but have not been diagnosed.

According to data compiled by the COPD Foundation, approximately $32.1 billion in U.S. medical costs and as many as 16.4 million lost days of work are attributable to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease diagnoses.

“We did a study of 3,000 individuals across America with COPD, and 65% were identified as having between six and 10 comorbidities, including depression, anxiety, joint pain and osteoporosis, diabetes and heart disease, which were all above 50%,” Mr. Walsh said. “So you're not just dealing with one condition, you're probably dealing with multiple chronic conditions. This is just the kind of thing that your workplace wellness programs are for, and it's the thing that employers need to be worried about.”

COPD diagnoses occur most frequently in the agriculture, mining, health care, food services and energy sectors.

Panelists said employers can take the first steps toward reducing the prevalence of COPD among their own workforce by incorporating certain diagnostic questions in their wellness-related health risk assessments and biometric screenings, as well as providing educational classes and resources designed to promote COPD prevention.

“COPD is very challenging, in that it is frequently undiagnosed, but it is a condition that affects a lot of working-age populations,” said Guy D'Andrea, managing partner at Baltimore-based health care consultant Discern Health Inc. “This is a disease that is both preventable and treatable, and employers really ought to think of this as an opportunity to drive healthier outcomes among their workforce.”