Generally when we hear about racial and ethnic profiling, it’s in a negative light. But what about when it comes to wellness programs?  

When used for the specific purpose of  starting – or reviewing – a wellness or disease management program, profiling isn’t just legal. It’s also encouraged.

Affects health risks

Different racial and ethnic groups tend to be more at risk – for genetic and/or cultural reasons – of certain health problems. Examples:

• African-American, Latino, Native American and Pacific Islanders are
  at higher risk of diabetes than Caucasian employees
• Chinese women are statistically twice as likely to get cervical cancer
• Caucasians have disproportionately high rates of obesity and high blood pressure, and
• Latinos have higher rates of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease than other groups. The HIV/AIDS population is also disproportionately Hispanic.

Bottom line: By reviewing the ethnic breakdown of your employee population, you can set disease management program priorities with greater confidence and accuracy.

Healthcare quality an issue

Several studies also show there’s an unfortunate relationship between ethnicity and quality of health care. Many times, minority employees receive inferior treatment and health education at the same facilities where others receive top-notch care.

This usually happens for innocent reasons. A common scenario: a lack of Spanish-speaking doctors in the network for your Latino employees. But the result is usually higher health costs for you and, often,  greater reluctance among minority employees to seek needed treatments.

By profiling employees against the doctors in the network, you ultimately help employees get the care they need and the company to better control long-term costs.