RETURNS ON WELLBEING INSTITUTE PODCAST

Dr. Ron Goetzel is the VP of consulting and applied research for IBM Watson Health. He holds a second position as Senior Scientist and Director of the Institute for Health and Productivity Studies at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health. Dr. Goetzel leads research projects for employers and other healthcare purchasers interested in the relationship between health and wellbeing, medical costs, and work-related productivity.

Dr. Goetzel is an internationally recognized and widely published expert in, among other things, evaluations of health promotion programs and return on investment (ROI) from such programs. He has published over 100 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters, and frequently presents at intern’l business and scientific forums. We discuss his work, and his findings on why wellness has largely failed in the workplace, and what is needed. He emphasizes the importance of a culture of wellbeing as the basis for focused programs.

Paul Clark is a founder of Clark & Lavey, a full-service employer benefits solutions brokerage company. Paul’s particular area of expertise is employer healthcare insurance and self insurance. Paul discusses issues with traditional health insurance and the benefits of self insurance. He also explains how to mitigate risk through stop loss, reinsurance, and captive pools. Paul also discusses what to look for in broker-partners.

Michael Samuelson has spent almost four decades in the wellness/wellbeing arena in various roles, including entrepreneur, university professor, community organizer, and US health policy advisor. Michael also was a colleague of mine as the CEO of RI Blue Cross’ subsidiary, the Health & Wellness Institute. Michael’s writings have been read by millions throughout the world, and endorsed by medical organizations, leaders, and media personalities, including George HW Bush, Betty Ford, C Everett Koop, and Larry King.

Michael discusses why workplace wellness has failed and why a comprehensive workplace wellbeing approach is what is needed. He also discusses the importance of a whole person approach that takes into account the mental/emotional components of wellbeing.