The cost of healthcare is ridiculous and seemingly out of control. For this reason alone we, as individuals and organizations, need to be proactive with our health. Eat right, exercise, get rest, and of course – practice sound ergonomics. Do these things and you will feel good, maintain your health, and remain free from injury. This avoids wasting money on medical bills.

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Real Life Example of Sticker Shock

Allow me to tell a story about going to the doctor. Let’s say you go to the doctor for a routine check which ends up including a minor procedure. You get to the appointment on time, yet are told to wait in the waiting room for 10 minutes before getting escorted to the exam room. The nurse checks you in, you wait 2-3 minutes, the doctor comes in. The exam and procedure takes 20 minutes and you are out the door.

In and out of the office in 30 minutes for a simple, routine, and minor procedure. Not too bad right? 2 months later you get a bill in the mail:

These are real costs that I recently experienced. I called the billing department and asked them to validate every line item. Having the feeling of being taken advantage of and being blindsided with an unexpected bill, I went on to let them know that these rates are out of control. To be honest, I felt like I was being robbed by the fact that there was no transparency about the costs of the services before they were provided. I was basically told that there is no negotiation, no arguing their rates (which I’m guessing medical providers have no idea what visits cost when providing services). I the end, there is no transparency in how much a visit costs. Bottom line is that their revenue for a 30 minute routine appointment was $1,519 translating into $3,038 per hour!!!

How can anyone afford to be unhealthy? Why would a healthy person want to go to the doctor? How can someone who doesn’t have the financial means or insurance afford healthcare? Let me be clear, I value what medical professionals do for us, but I also believe fair and transparent pricing. My example is likely just scratching the surface on the wild costs healthcare organizations are charging us.

Have you ever had an experience like this?

The Potential Cost of Ergonomics

While I’m not here to bash our medical providers, I am here to advise everyone to be proactive and knowledgeable about your health. I want you to live injury free. I want to help save you money. As an Certified Professional Ergonomist, this is where I am here to assist. Let’s look at a hypothetical ergonomic injury medical cost for a common condition – back pain.

As an estimate, this amounts to 4 to 6 weeks, 12 appointments, 7.5 hours total appointment time with a provider, and $2,490 in potential medical costs! Whether you pay this out of pocket, are insured through your employer, or pay this out through Worker’s Compensation – it adds up quick. These are only direct medical cost estimates – there are additional direct and indirect costs that make the total cost figure much higher (lost productivity, lost wages, lost time, training, administrative costs, and so on).

So what does this all mean?

If you can prevent injury and maintain good health, YOU WILL SAVE MONEY.

As much as we don’t want to admit it, money is one of the main drivers of why we work as individuals or why our organizations exist. I would personally rather spend $1,000 on something fun. As business owner, I’d rather pay my employees better or improve my business and not waste it on medical expenses.

Invest a little now or pay a lot later

Your investment in ergonomics can save both time and money. Money saved by not paying medical bills could look something like this:

• You could purchase a good office chair to help support you and your back.
• You could buy an inexpensive palm rest to reduce wrist and elbow discomfort. (intrigued? Click here to read about wrist pain and keyboards)
• You could get a tablet/phone stand to improve viewing angles preventing tech neck.
• You could be get a lift table to prevent your employees from bending over.
• You could buy a power tool to eliminate a physically demanding manual tool.

Check out my list of the “Top 6 Office Ergonomics Product for Home” or Work or my “Digital Ergonomics Equipment Ideas” list.

How well do you know “ergonomics”?

A lot of ergonomics is intuitive and logical. I find that most people surprisingly know ergonomics fairly well but it also gets a bad reputation when people use ergonomics as a buzzword. That being said, I find that most people and organizations do not know how to effectively verbalize, communicate, and talk about ergonomics. A lot of what I do as an ergonomics consultant is assess, compare, and communicate risk. I answer the ‘how bad is it?’ and ‘what is the best corrective action?’ questions. How you practice ergonomics and how you excel at it is energized through education and training to aid in communication.

Actions you can take

Home and Office

For home and office, those who use computers, tablets, cell phones, and laptops, consider my “Beyond the Office: Digital Ergonomics for the Every Day Person”. You get a self-paced, information packed, guided ergonomic assessment not only telling you how to use and set-up your equipment, but why. This is as close as you can get to having a personal one-on-one ergonomic office ergonomics walk-through without hiring a professional at a much higher price point.

One hour training to potentially save you from a $250 doctor appointment – not bad potential savings (this doesn’t even account for the fact that you can avoid physical pain – which doesn’t carry a price tag). If self-paced on-line courses aren’t you thing or you have individual needs, I can also do on-site training and  assessments if you would be interested. All you need to do is send me a note.

Industry

For those of you in industry, check out your Worker’s Compensation costs, employee medical bills, and the other direct and indirect costs of ergonomic related injuries. Your numbers may shock you like they did me when I got that $942 medical bill for a 20 minute appointment. I bet your organization is looking for ways to save money. Not to mention, we value our employee’s time – when they are not producing, the organization is not making money. Ergonomic related injuries almost always result of some level of downtime.

Consider investing in ergonomics coaching and consulting with the objective of improving the safety of your organization, producing high quality results, and working as efficiently as possible. This is why I firmly believe in coaching ergonomics, not training ergonomics. Many know ergonomics, but do they actually practice it? Teach your organization not only what ergonomics really is, but how to practice and improve it on a daily basis.

The bottom line

Prioritize your health and protect your bottom line. Take definitive action to prevent ergonomic injuries—it’s not only the responsible choice but the most financially sound one. Contact Practical Ergonomics today for tailored insight on improving ergonomics for yourself or your organization – or request a quote. Be sure to check out my other “The Practical Ergonomist” posts for other practical ways to move your ergonomics to save you from pain, save time, and save money. Lastly, don’t forget to subscribe to this blog for more ergonomics, injury prevention, and safety insights.

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