Migraine affects 12% of the US population, and 15% of the European
population. Chronic daily headache affects about 4% of the general
population. Only half of all migraine sufferers have been diagnosed,
and even of those who have, many take only over-the-counter medications
and are not receiving effective care. Many headache sufferers, in
desperation, overuse analgesic medication, resulting in medication
overuse headaches. Health promotion, education, and prevention provide
a better way.
• Preserve Employee Loyalty
A company is only as strong as its people. Be a company that cares
about your employee base enough to invest in health promotion and brand
for wellness. Let us help you to focus your wellness plan by targeting
the most common neurologic disorder: migraine.
• Curb Health Care Expenditures
Chronic headache sufferers who overuse analgesics are at increased
risk for gastritis, liver damage, and ulcers—in addition to increased
headache frequency and severity due to medication overuse headache
syndrome.
Recent studies conducted by Thomson Medstat, sponsored by
OrthoMcNeil, revealed that the direct costs of delivering care to
employees with migraine headaches was $12.7 billion annually.
• Reduce Productivity Losses
Headache can incur significant costs due to lost productivity. The
study referenced above also found that the indirect costs of
migraine—that is the costs due to absenteeism, short term disability,
and worker's compensation—were about $12 billion annually. This,
however, does not even begin to address the productivity losses
attributable to presenteeism. Migraineurs tend to stay at work with
headaches, but report being 40-60% less productive than when they are
headache-free. Estimates of lost productivity due to migraine range
between 2.4 and 3.6 hours/week per migraine sufferer. Your overall
productivity losses related to headache are likely to be substantial.
• Return on Investment
A migraine awareness health promotion campaign and wellness program
can substantially reduce your productivity losses due to headache and
migraine, and can also decrease overall health care expenditures. Even
taking into consideration the referral of new cases for treatment, the
overall reduction of headache burden results in a reduction in both the
direct costs treatment and a substantial reduction in productivity
losses. Your health promotion investment will more than pay for itself.
