Wellness goes to work: Companies are offering a wide array of offerings

Businesses are showing more interest in preventive medicine programs, providing a new business opportunity for physicians.

By Mike Norbut, AMNews staff. June 5, 2006.

For an afternoon every week or two, internist Richard Hildebrand, MD, practices medicine in a way that would make most physicians jealous.

As medical director at the Center for Preventive Medicine, part of St. Luke's Health System in Sioux City, Iowa, Dr. Hildebrand spends two or three hours with the same patient. He focuses not on acute illnesses, but on wellness. He puts the patient through a series of tests, and actually has time to go over results with him or her once they're completed.

"Over time -- and I hate to speak for everybody -- we've gotten used to the appointments every 10 or 20 minutes," Dr. Hildebrand said. "This is a nice combination of very old-fashioned, but very high-tech. It makes a lot of sense."

Employers think so, too. More companies are joining in the wellness trend, sponsoring preventive health programs and asking -- or, in some cases, requiring -- their employees to enroll. Programs range from one-dimensional, single-issue programs such as smoking cessation to diverse, multipurpose strategies that look at a person's overall health.

Sensing a business opportunity, some physicians are starting to adapt their practices to fit this trend as well. Some are providing contracted services to hospitals, while others are tailoring wellness programs and marketing them directly to local businesses. A few doctors even are partnering with fledgling businesses providing turnkey-style support or other services to help them get their wellness practices off the ground.