Consensus Statement Offers Guidance on the Use of Biometric Screenings as a Workplace Wellness Tool

Three national health organizations have published new guidance intended to help employers create more successful programs for gathering health-screening information from employees. Known as “biometric screenings,” the gathering of such information — ranging from height and weight to blood pressure and cholesterol levels — can play a key role in an employer’s workplace wellness program.

The Health Enhancement Research Organization (HERO), the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM), and the Care Continuum Alliance (CCA) collaborated on a consensus statement titled “Biometric Screening for Employers,” which was published in the October issue of the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (JOEM), the official publication of ACOEM.

With the growth in the popularity of employer wellness programs, the inclusion of biometric screenings is on the rise. During a biometric screening, factors such as blood pressure, weight, and cholesterol are taken at the worksite and used as a part of a workplace health assessment to benchmark and evaluate changes in employee health status over time. These measurements are often used as an essential component in health management and wellness programs for employees.

But many variables must be taken into account in order for biometric screening programs to succeed, including data collection methods, selection of appropriate populations for screening, operational issues, privacy considerations, budget limitations and others. “Biometric Screening for Employers” offers detailed suggestions on all of these and other variables, organized into four major categories to assist employers when considering biometric screening as part of an overall employee health management approach.