San Francisco, March 13, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today at its 2018 Annual Forum, the non-profit Integrated Benefits Institute (IBI) announced the development of its newest initiative to engage key stakeholders in efforts to reduce the ever-increasing cost burden of employee health risks and disease that are impacting how US businesses compete globally. Through additional research, testing and educational resources, IBI Labs participants can improve the health, wellbeing, productivity and economics of individuals, businesses and communities.

IBI Labs will be a single resource that broadly looks at people, productivity and business performance. It will allow members to view better workplace practices, connect with peers who are addressing similar challenges and comparable expertise levels, consider new technologies, and benchmark results and outcomes against companies in similar industries and size.

“Employers continue to struggle with increasing health care costs and chronic conditions for their employees and family members, impacting their ability to compete in a global marketplace, and a new approach is required,” said Chris McSwain, IBI president. “As a result, we’ve created IBI Labs to help employers know what a good program looks like based on what has and hasn’t worked for peer companies, in addition to the optimum solutions and services for their employee populations. And for the businesses that supply products and services to employers, it’s critical that they understand what value looks like.”

IBI Labs draws upon IBI’s foundation of research and its regional and national forums to provide resources that foster discovery, testing, learning and growth. Initial programs include:

• Market Intelligence: Expand upon IBI’s member network of 1,250+ employers to create a comprehensive template that allows business leaders to benchmark their companies against similar entities and to network with others with related interests to share and learn together.
• Promising Technology: In partnership with a Founding Collaborator, document emerging technology and services that provide the highest value and impact upon employee productivity and business performance through improved population health.
• Research and Measurement: Research and develop evaluation frameworks to measure new areas of innovation such as the health of the community where employees live, its impact on business performance and intervention models that provide the highest value.
• Bold Ideas for Big Thinkers: For the biggest challenges facing our members, conduct reviews of disruptive solutions providing breakthrough improvements compared to current industry models. 

“For far too many decades, business, individuals and government agencies alike have been striving to improve both health conditions and their related costs,” said Gary Earl, founder of Gary Earl Health, LLC. “However, despite best efforts to make treatments more effective and costs more manageable we have seen a steady and unsustainable increase in both. IBI Labs represent the first ever innovative, interconnected, comprehensive and truly collaborative effort to explore, build, text and launch meaningful solution sets aimed at improving health and economic outcomes for all stakeholders and consumers alike.” 

To learn more and participate in IBI Labs, email ibilabs@ibiweb.com.

About Integrated Benefits Institute

As the leading research organization in health and productivity, the Integrated Benefits Institute Institute’s (IBI) work emphasizes that healthy, productive employees promote healthy business. Since its inception in 1995, IBI has been an independent nonprofit serving more than 1,250+ members—the companies that provide health and productivity services and the companies that implement health-related programs to benefit their employees and their business. IBI provides unbiased research, insights and tools so employers and providers can make decisions that positively impact people, productivity and performance (3Ps). For additional information, please visit www.ibiweb.org and follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.

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Cary Conway
Integrated Benefits Insitute
9726494707
cary@conwaycommunication.com