Improving Health Care with GE’s Healthy Imagination Initiative

Summary

In this article, we explore General Electric’s Healthy Imagination initiative, a $6 billion global commitment to improving health care by focusing on quality, access, and affordability. The initiative was launched in 2010 and has since partnered with various organizations to provide better health care for more people. GE also faced the challenge of increasing healthcare costs for its employees and created a program called Health Ahead, which offers a variety of tools for employees to access. The article also discusses the speaker’s experience with an employer’s health and wellness program and the positive results that came with it.

The Launch of Healthy Imagination
Addressing Healthcare Costs for Employees with Health Ahead
The Speaker’s Experience with an Employer’s Health and Wellness Program
Conclusion

The Launch of Healthy Imagination

Sue Siegels, a corporate VP at General Electric, is the CEO of GE’s Healthy Imagination. The initiative was launched in 2010 with a goal to provide better health care for more people by focusing on quality, access, and affordability. The initiative started with various experiments and pilots, ranging from looking at access and quality for medical care in Saudi Arabia to partnering with the Susan G. Komen Foundation to increase the ability to look for early-stage cancers in women. GE also partnered with the community and its employees to put things into place that could make a difference. The initiative was born out of an impatience that nothing was happening in the existing health care systems, and GE decided to pick it up and do it themselves.

Addressing Healthcare Costs for Employees with Health Ahead

GE faced the challenge of increasing healthcare costs for its 300,000 employees, which was a big cost for the corporation. To address this issue, GE created a program called Health Ahead, which offers a variety of tools for employees to access, such as smoking cessation programs, exercise measurement, and access to health coaches. GE took this program seriously and implemented a site certification process to ensure that all sites were adhering to the program. The program also focused on educating employees and providing them with better access to information. The testimonials that have come back have been positive, as employees have become more educated and engaged in their health. However, some employees may not feel comfortable sharing their health information with their corporation and may seek outside coaching services.

The Speaker’s Experience with an Employer’s Health and Wellness Program

The speaker discusses their experience with an employer’s health and wellness program. Initially, there was some hesitation about the employer getting involved in their health, but over time, employees became engaged with the tool sets offered and saw positive results. The program included a mix of apps, physical presence, diet changes, leadership accountability, health coaches, and active sourcing from medical suppliers. The program is sustained over time through a systematic approach and a culture of health, which includes events like Health Ahead Day and tread desks at some sites. The speaker believes it would be interesting to collect data on how much weight the corporation has lost as a result of the program.

Conclusion

General Electric’s Healthy Imagination initiative and Health Ahead program have proven to be effective in improving health care and reducing healthcare costs for employees. With a focus on quality, access, and affordability, GE has partnered with various organizations and its employees to make a difference. The speaker’s experience with an employer’s health and wellness program also highlights the positive impact that such programs can have on employees.