The backbone of wellness programming at the worksite is health screening. It is the first major activity a company should do when starting a wellness program. Health screening is often used in conjunction with the administration of a Health Risk Appraisal (HRA).

The most effective way to screen is to utilize a health professional trained in wellness screening techniques and counseling to privately and individually assess participants. This wellness professional takes a brief health history and measures blood pressure and cholesterol. With computerized cholesterol desktop analyzers, results are obtained in about four minutes.

Immediate feedback, consultation, and educational materials are provided. For those identified at-risk, follow-up appointments can be scheduled at this time. The whole process takes about 20 minutes per individual. The screening also provides an immediate opportunity to register participants in various health improvement programs based on their interests and identified health risks.

Health screening can be done on an annual basis and used as a means of monitoring health risks within the worksite.

A health screening program needs to provide multiple opportunities for participation. The service should be provided for all the various shifts of a company. The screening program should be conducted in highly visible areas so the process can be observed, while still maintaining privacy and confidentiality for the employees during screening.

Reluctant employees often like to be able to see what the program is about before they participate. When wellness screeners are not busy, they should perform outreach going to areas where employees gather and attempt to recruit employees.

When well-planned and promoted, health screening can attract participation rates of 60% to 100%. These high participation rates have a positive impact on management producing support for further programming.