Only weeks after a former Harvard economics instructor claimed that virtually all of the money companies have spent on wellness programs has been wasted, a Harvard study is highlighting one corporate wellness program as a ringing success.

A study conducted by a group of researchers estimated that McKesson, a health care IT company, had a return-on-investment of 30 percent for the money it has devoted to its employee wellness plan.

McKesson is touting that finding along with news that it was selected to receive the Everett Koop National Health Award, an honor given by the Health Project to companies with wellness programs that prove the program has both improved worker health and saved money.

“Our health and wellness program successfully promotes the physical, mental and social wellbeing of our employees and their families," said Jorge Figueredo, McKesson vice president of human resources. "Although the focus is on improving health, we’re pleased that the wellness initiatives have created opportunities to lower health care costs for our company, our employees and their families.”

Like many conventional wellness programs, McKesson's includes health screenings, initiatives to educate employees about healthy living as well as physical activity opportunities in the workplace. And, like a growing number of companies, McKesson has offered workers pedometers to encourage them to track their steps throughout the day. The company reports that employees and their spouses took 51.6 billion steps — a total of 25.6 million miles — from 2011 to 2014.

Between 2012 and 2014, McKesson reports that a majority of the program participants transitioned from the "low engagers" group in terms of physical activity to the medium or high engager groups. Altogether, the high engagers group more than doubled, from just over 2,000 to more than 5,000 members.

The company argues that the increased physical activity is linked to a rise in job performance. It points out a survey in which employees reported that their performance increased, on average, from 81.69 percent in 2012 to 85.34 percent in 2014. According to the company, that increase in job performance translates into an estimated savings of nearly $7 million for the company.

What is not clear from the information the company provided, however, is what measurable health outcomes the program produced or how many employees did not participate or dropped out of the wellness program.

Instant Insights /

McKesson gets 30 percent return on wellness program

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