title: Managing the burden of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease on workforce health and productivity: upping a leading employer's game.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To develop new evidence for advancing a leading employer's capacity to manage the burden of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective analyses of an integrated database tracking active employees (n = 19,989) from 2001-2009. Tests on 29 measures of direct/indirect costs and drivers examined unique disease burden and impact over time.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The costs of COPD exceeded workforce-wide costs by wide margins in 2001-2002. Direct costs linked to the disease rose in 2008-2009; whereas, its indirect costs dropped sharply. Differences between yet-to-be-diagnosed versus diagnosed and newly diagnosed versus established diagnosed groups were directionally consistent on driver and cost measures in 2001-2002. In 2008-2009, these comparisons were similarly consistent on indirect measures but not direct measures. Medication use helped to explain the inconsistencies.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  New action on COPD-oriented unit price escalation, prevention, and medical management concerns raised by these results could strengthen an already exemplary health and productivity program.
authors.affiliation: Harris Allen Group, LLC, Brookline, MA 02445, USA. harris@harrisallengroup.com
authors.forename: Harris
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Allen
authors.forename: William
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Rogers
authors.forename: William B
authors.initials: WB
authors.lastname: Bunn
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002641:Chicago; D017281:Cost of Illness; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004526:Efficiency; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016272:Occupational Health; D019982:Organizational Case Studies; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000191:economics*; D012189:Retrospective Studies