Alcohol Screening Yields 2-to-1 Savings, Group SaysOctober 27, 2005
Research Summary
Employers can save $2 for every dollar they spend on screening patients for alcohol problems and referring them to treatment, according to a research group at the George Washington University Medical Center.Ensuring Solutions to Alcohol Problems said companies' return on investment for alcohol screening -- 215 percent -- was more favorable than investing in BlackBerry wireless e-mail devices (162 percent) and in the same ballpark as investing in heart-disease management programs (278 percent).
Savings come from increased productivity, lower medical costs, and fewer days of work missed due to alcohol problems. Ensuring Solutions has developed an online Alcohol Treatment Return on Investment Calculator that employers can use to determine their own potential savings.
"If alcohol screening and treatment were as pervasive in today's workplace as BlackBerrys, companies would see increased productivity, a stronger workforce, and real savings in health-care expenses," said Ensuring Solutions director Eric Goplerud, Ph.D. "Employers and health plans need to do a better job screening and treating employees who suffer from alcohol-related problems because it saves money and it's the right thing to do."
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