"Healthcare spending is 10 percent higher for hospital employees than it is for the general employee population"
Further, the article states:
Why is this? In my opinion, healthcare workers feel because they have been educated, they can handle their own health. Potentially, they wait until the illness has reached an acuity beyond their individual expertise.
What are your thoughts? Why do hospital employees spend more on healthcare, specifically over utilization of ED services?
You're assuming that people that work in a hospital are educated about health. Most of the people that work in a hospital are unskilled. Food Services, Environmental Services (Housekeeping), Data Entry, etc. Paper-pushes and low-education jobs. Even the educated administration - working in a hospital and understanding health are two very different things. And non-healthcare workers probably outnumber actual healthcare workers in a hospital. I'd be curious to see stats about physicians and nurses.
ReplyDeleteAs for the increase in ER visits, the people that work in a hospital could be more comfortable with the services a hospital provides, it's not scary. So going to the ER, at the hospital that individual is familiar with might seem like a better option than going to an unfamiliar urgent care clinic.
It is sad that, at least according to this article, hospital employees are less-healthy. But any place that has shift-work, I think, probably has the same health problems.
Great insight! I definitely agree with you. It is essential understand the diversity of employees within a hospital. I think, like you said, the research should have looked into specific professions within the hospital.
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