Glaxo Wellcome

Narrative Description of Program

Glaxo Wellcome is a research-based pharmaceutical company with approximately 8,900 U.S. employees who are committed to fighting disease by bringing innovative medicines to patients and their healthcare providers.  Our employees are our most valuable asset.  The company is committed to providing employees with high quality healthcare and benefits, safe working environments, entrepreneurial/independent work and management practices that support balance on and off the job.

Program Purpose and Philosophy

Glaxo Wellcome Inc. was created in 1995, following the merger of Glaxo Inc. and Burroughs Wellcome Co.  Glaxo Wellcome Occupational Health Services (OHS) adopted a statement of purpose to deliver high quality  healthcare to help keep people well, working and vital partners in corporate success.  Our integrated and  comprehensive program is based on a prevention model that ensures that employees have the resources needed to stay well, participate in screening and surveillance programs for early detection of disease and have easy access to high quality health care if they become ill.  An integrated disability management program ensures that employees with medical problems receive needed assistance and accommodations to ensure timely return to work.  All programs and services are holistic and encompass aspects of physical, mental, intellectual, social and spiritual health.

Scope of the Program

Using a prevention model the following elements represent the scope of the programming available to employees from OHS.

Approach

OHS uses a data-driven approach to continuously evaluate and improve programs. Analysis of process and outcome measures is performed both internally and with the assistance of external organizations with special expertise. To improve the management of workers at the time they use medical, disability, and workers' compensation benefits: to manage various employee benefit plans; and to develop programs and policies that improve employee health and productivity, OHS performs health analyses using an integrated health benefits data warehouse. This approach incorporates a person-centric human capital management approach to the integrated management of health benefits cost. In collaboration with Options and Choices, Inc. (OCI), person-centric, demand-side integrated information has been developed regarding patterns of health benefits use.

The focus of the GlaxoWellcome workplace health and safety programs is the preventionof work-related injuries and illnesses, early intervention with integrated systems to ensureprompt treatment and access to quality external referrals, timely return-to-work, correctiveaction and broader organizational learning to prevent similar problems. When work-relatedinjuries and illnesses occur, OHS provides evaluation and treatment at five strategicallylocated clinics that are staffed by certified occupational health nurses with occupationallytrained physicians and physician assistants available for consultation. OHS provides acomprehensive program for health evaluation of employees: pre-placement, medicalsurveillance, reproductive health, fitness center participation, return to work, fitness forduty, occupational injury/illness, periodic medical screenings and exit evaluations. OHSmanages an extensive site emergency plan, including over 150 trained MedicalEmergency Response Team volunteers, for any type medical emergency. A professionalstaff provides telephonic health counseling, referral and follow-up for the 3,500 field salesforce, located in 50 states.

OHS provides a variety of services to help employees minimize time away form work toaddress personal, medical and emotional needs, i.e., immunizations, breast pumps inclinics and quiet, private areas; foreign travel consultations; OTC medications on request;and wound care and treatments under standing medical protocols. Occupational healthprofessionals routinely work with safety, industrial hygiene and engineering personnel toadvise management on issues related to indoor air quality, food services, ergonomics andnew process introductions. Health and safety staff work collegially to pool their expertise inoccupational medicine, occupational health nursing, occupational toxicology and hygiene,ergonomics, radiation safety, hazard communication, and safety training with the intent tosafeguard worker health. In collaboration with Environmental Safety, OHS tracks anddocuments compliance with regulations regarding hazard awareness/training andassesses occupational hazards to determine the appropriate engineering controls andpersonal protective equipment. OHS establishes a personal medical record for eachemployee, according to the guidelines for confidentiality from AMA, ACOEM and AAOHNCode of Ethics. GW conducts periodic evaluations of its health, safety and environmentalprograms at the R&D and manufacturing sites. (See Documentation)

The strategic goals of the Health Promotion Program are to increase employees' healthknowledge and build life skills that support lifelong healthy behaviors and practices. Thisprogram impacts current healthcare costs, future healthcare costs, morale, andproductivity. Continuous program evaluation examines participation in health and wellnessprogramming, evidence of behavior change, and the impacts on health costs. Currenthealth promotion emphasis includes analyzing data obtained from a rewards-basedprogram called the Contract for Health & Wellness to determine the effect of employees'annual commitment to their health on activity levels, nutrition practices, stressmanagement, tobacco use and self care. On-site longitudinal programming is designed, tocreate "something for everyone", determined from where employees assessed themselvesusing the stages of change model. (See Documentation)

The strategic goals that guide the integrated disABILITY Management Program are to:promote prevention and early intervention to reduce the effects of the onset of disability;ensure employee access to optimal, quality health care; minimize the effects of disability,duration of illness and absence from work; facilitate early return to work with resultingdecrease in lost work days, thereby increasing productivity; contain direct and indirect costsassociated with disability; maximize job satisfaction and worker morale; and evaluate overallprogram effectiveness using outcomes measures. Nurse case managers use Perry'sDisability Guidelines, screening for psychosocial problems, and oversee and direct the returnto work process and coordinates continued care and follow-up through the five onsite OHSClinics. A Disability Case Review Team provides direction for the employee's efficientmovement through the health care system and back to productive employment. (See Documentation)

To promote early detection of diseases, OHS offers a variety of screenings to employees.Three screening and health education programs have been offered annually since 1996:breast and dermal cancer screenings and hemochromatosis screening. Each year, the on-site OHS clinics offer breast care education, professional exams, and self-exam educationto all employees and mammograms to female employees who are 50 or older and/or at highrisk for breast cancer. (Mammograms are also available to female dependents at one of theclinic locations). OHS staff follow-up with employees and their providers to ensure that theyreceived quality after-care. In late spring, each on-site OHS clinic offers "Sense in the Sun"education to all employees and dermal screening to employees at high risk for skin cancer.A workplace hemochromatosis screening program was implemented and evaluated.Hemochromatosis is a common inherited disorder of iron metabolism with significant healthconsequences if left untreated. However, if the condition is detected in the pre-cirrhoticstage, it is easily treated with medically monitored phlebotomy. (See Documentation)

OHS also provides for the support of employees', their families' and retirees' mental,intellectual and social needs with programming that includes an Employee AssistanceProgram (the Personal Support Network), and work and personal life balance support(LifeWorks). The focus of the Personal Support Network is to provide rapid, confidentialaccess to mental health care, at no cost. LifeWorks provides telephonic, on-line and groupresources and referrals for child care, elder care, self-care for work/life balance issues, andeducational resources for employees, their dependents and retirees. Both programsfacilitate employees' ability to focus on work without the distraction of personal issues. (See Documentation)

• Glaxo-Wellcome - Occupational Health Services

Overall Selection Task Force Criteria for Glaxo Wellcome

The strengths of this program included an excellent program model, good participation, health and safety features, options and choices evaluation, claims analyses, documented risk reductions, and external evaluation from Hewitt, with documented decreases in sick days and in disability and a strong intention to treat design.  This is a very strong program

Reviewer concerns were that the design does not entirely eliminate external factors (such as the merger) leading to nonspecific changes over time.  The trends look positive but might parallel a secular trend.  The reviewers would like to have seen attrition rates for smokers.  The findings should be published and there were some weaknesses perceived on economic analysis, particularly with health benefit claims data. The program was noted to be lacking some of the newer technology of health promotion and disease prevention, such as high-risk intervention and self-care.