Wellness

As employers are continuing to look for ways to control health care costs, wellness programs are expected to remain a popular benefit offering in 2013. Wellness programs aren't new to the benefits industry, but employers are taking steps to get more out of these programs this year.

Although most employees understand how to get and stay healthy, they lack correct perceptions of their health and health care programs, according to a new survey from Aon Hewitt, the National Business Group on Health and The Futures Co.

Drugmaker Merck & Co. is suspending its sale of the cholesterol drug Tredaptive and telling doctors to quit prescribing the tablets.

The Food and Drug Administration is requiring makers of Ambien and similar sleeping pills to lower the dosage of their drugs, based on studies suggesting patients face a higher risk of injury due to morning drowsiness.

From the Rocky Mountains to New England, hospitals are swamped with people with flu symptoms. Some medical centers are turning away visitors or making them wear face masks, and one Pennsylvania hospital set up a tent outside its ER to deal with the feverish patients.

As employers experience higher data levels within benefits, human resources, safety and operational departments, an employer can use a limited set of population health metrics to emphasize top indicators of health, care and treatment as well as lagging health indicators.