Posthospital Convalescence and Return to Work

Abstract

Prologue: Each year, American business spends approximately $37 billion because of employees' absence from work. This hits large employers especially hard; a study in 1981 reported that General Motors lost a billion dollars a year because of absenteeism. Furthermore, only 10 percent of its work force accounted for 85 percent of the loss. Diana Walsh and her colleagues at Boston University's Health Policy Institute examine the problem in this article. Their interest in absenteeism grew out of a meeting of the Pew Corporate Health Policy Program, funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts, under which managers from major corporations meet twice a year to discuss topics related to health care costs. Managers felt that, amidst the corporate clamor over health care costs, inadequate attention has focused on the problem of illness-related absenteeism and its attendant costs. At Boston University, Walsh is university professor, professor of public health, and associate director of the Health Policy Institute. She holds a master of science degree in journalism and a doctorate in health policy from Boston University. Eileen Connor, senior health policy analyst, directs the corporate associates program; she holds a master's degree in sociology from Boston University and a master's degree in health administration from the University of Michigan. Lenore Tracey is a senior research associate at the center. George Goldberg, an internist whose “subspecialty” is methods of monitoring health care quality and use, is director of health care analysis and research. He received his medical degree from Harvard University. Richard Egdahl is academic vice-president for health affairs at Boston University. He directs the Boston University Medical Center, and is founder and director of the Health Policy Institute. He received his medical degree from Dartmouth University, and holds a doctorate in physiology from the University of Minnesota.