The power of prevention

A PMO is a health check that examines the general health of employees in a workplace. This goes beyond health hazards in the immediate work environment and looks at the individual’s overall health. Using a PMO health risks can be identified early and preventive measures can be taken. The advantage of PMOs is that potential health problems can be addressed quickly, preventing burnout or chronic illness in the long term.

The benefits of investing in a PMO

Investing in a PMO has several benefits for both a company and its employees. The four main benefits are explained below.

1. Early identification of health risks

A PMO can help identify potential health risks in employees early. This enables companies to take proactive measures to improve employee health before more serious or long-term health problems occur.

2. Prevention of absenteeism and employee turnover

By addressing health risks early, a company can reduce absenteeism and employee turnover. This results in a more stable working environment and lower costs in the long run.

3. Promotion of health and productivity

A healthy employee is generally a more productive employee. By taking steps to promote employee health, a company can have a positive impact on its staff’s productivity and well-being.

4. Meet legal obligations for employee health

In the Netherlands, Section 18 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act states that companies are obliged to periodically offer employees the opportunity to undergo a PMO (Overheid, 2023). By complying with this obligation, a company can avoid legal issues and meet care obligations to their employees.

A PMO is not only an investment in the health of employees, but also in the health of the company itself. It helps create a healthier working environment and prevent long-term costs due to absenteeism.

Healthy employees, healthy organisations

As an employer, offering a PMO not only helps your organisation comply with legal obligations, but also contributes to the health and vitality of your team. As health is closely related to productivity, prioritising the wellbeing of your workforce is ultimately the key to a successful organisation. Homed-IQ’s Preventive Health Screening can help support companies in conducting a PMO. This home health test measures key biomarkers that can cause undiagnosed symptoms or indicate other medical conditions. Want to know more about how Homed-IQ health tests can help your company? Feel free to contact our team for further advice and information.

What is a Preventive Medical Examination?

A Preventive Medical Examination (Preventief Medisch Onderzoek or PMO in Dutch) is an examination that checks in on the general health of employees. During this check-up potential health risks can be detected early and preventive measures taken to avoid acute illness or chronic disease. The biggest advantage of a PMO is that companies can take action quickly to prevent health problems from progressing. In this way, severe illness or burnout can be prevented. (Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations, 2020).

An examination in addition to the PAGO

Before a PMO can be conducted among your employees, a Periodic Occupational Health Examination (Periodiek Arbeidsgezondheidskundig Onderzoek or PAGO in Dutch) must first take place. The purpose of this examination is to assess and monitor potential health risks in the workplace. This involves checking several aspects of the workplace, such as the indoor temperature, the amount of natural light, and the workload placed on employees.

The PAGO examination identifies any health problems or risks related to work itself and is always done by the company doctor. To get an even more comprehensive look at the health of your employees, an additional PMO exam is an excellent choice.

What are the differences between a PMO and PAGO?

The main difference between a Preventive Medical Examination (PMO) and a Periodic Occupational Health Examination (PAGO) is that a PAGO is only work environment related while PMOs check the individual health of an employee. For example, cholesterol and lipid levels, blood sugar, vitamin D, and vitamin B12 levels may be examined in a PMO. This exam may also check whether the employee is overweight. If necessary, advice is given to protect and improve the employee’s personal health (Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations, 2020).

What does a Preventive Health Check consist of?

Homed-IQ’s Corporate Health Check contains the following components:

• A preventive health check using a finger prick blood test.
• A laboratory report that can be brought to the GP if needed.

How much does a PMO cost?

Many companies today are struggling with higher absenteeism rates than in previous years. This could be because workload has increased and that employees are increasingly required to be constantly available via online communication. As a result, sick leaves due to psychological problems, overwork, or burnout are the most common (Central Bureau of Statistics, 2023). In combination with mental health challenges, unnoticed physical health problems place employees at high risk for long term disability or reduced productivity at work.

To prevent absenteeism in your employees, a Preventive Medical Examination can be very beneficial in the long run. Homed-IQ’s Corporate Health Check costs € 89.00 per employee including VAT. This cost is paid by the employer, but is ultimately cost-saving when compared to the cost of long-term illness in an employee (Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations, 2020).

Is a Preventive Medical Examination required by the Dutch Occupational Health and Safety Act?

According to Article 18 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act in the Netherlands, companies are obliged to periodically offer employees the opportunity to undergo a PMO (Overheid.nl, 2023). In some industries, employees are required to participate in a Preventive Medical Examination. These include professions in healthcare, construction, and agriculture, for example.

PMOs are required in industries that have certain occupational hazards, such as potential hearing damage or exposure to toxic substances. To prevent workplace exposures from damaging health, a periodic PMO is often included in the industry-specific collective bargaining agreement (FNV, s.d.). In addition, a Preventive Medical Examination is also mandatory if you work more than 55 night shifts. Take a look at the complete PMO list to find out when a PMO is mandatory in the Netherlands (Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations, s.d.).

How is a PMO performed?

Performing a PMO with Homed-IQ is very simple. You will receive a test kit that contains all the materials to take a finger prick blood sample. This can be done at home or at work. The test measures cholesterol and lipid levels, blood sugar, vitamin D and vitamin B12 levels. After collecting your blood sample, simply send the test kit to Homed-IQ’s certified partner laboratory through the post. Within a few days, your employee will receive the test results in a secure online portal.

In addition, your employee will also receive an official laboratory report. This can be shared with their family doctor if further investigation or treatment is needed.

How often should a Preventive Medical Examination be conducted?

According to the Dutch Occupational Health and Safety Act, the employer must periodically offer a Preventive Medical Examination. However, there is no mention of how often this should be offered. The main reason for this is that it depends on the risks involved in the job (Overheid.nl, 2023).

To determine how often a PMO is needed, it is recommended to get advice from your company’s doctor. They can make an assessment of potential risk exposures in the workplace and how often a PMO is needed.

How is a PMO beneficial for employers?

Some of the benefits of conducting a PMO are:

• Early identification of health risks.
• Taking preventive measures to avoid absenteeism and downtime.
• Promoting employee health and wellbeing.
• Meeting legal obligations on occupational health.

Order a Corporate Health Check

Would you like to offer a Preventive Health Check to your employees? Homed-IQ offers a Corporate Health Check that can be easily completed at home or work, requiring only a finger prick blood sample.

Do you have questions or want advice about offering a preventive health check to your company? Contact us today.

Under Article 18 of the Working Conditions Act, companies are obliged to periodically give employees the opportunity to undergo a Preventive Medical Examination (PMO). Existing PMOs often consist of a company doctor or survey. Using new testing technologies, HomedIQ is able to offer new insights into various biomarkers through a self-test. These self-tests are easy to perform at home, which increases the effectiveness of the PMO and makes it easy to implement.

Absence due to illness is a growing problem among companies: in 2021, 54 out of 1000 employees called in sick (CBS, 2021). A sick employee can cost their employer between 250 and 400 euros per day (ZilverenKruis). By providing employees with insight into certain markers in their blood, individuals can work on tackling health risks before acute illness occurs. Absenteeism can drop by up to 20% after performing a PMO (ErasmusMC). Additionally, the productivity of your company can increase by 10%!

Company Report

PMOs do not only allow employees to become aware of their health status- the employer also gets a general overview of the health of the company. In this way, targeted interventions can be implemented in the workplace to tackle problems at the root.

• Data based on anonymous test results
• Ability to implement targeted interventions in the workplace
• Follow-up testing
• Evaluate of the effectiveness of health interventions

The Test Process

1. Take your sample

Activate your test with the unique code and complete the online intake survey. Collect your blood sample and return it to the lab. Homed-IQ test kits contain all the necessary materials and return postage to complete your sample.

2. View your results

View your test results in your personal account and find relevant tips and lifestyle advice to optimise your health. You can also contact our medical team if you have any questions about the content of the test results.

3. Get to work!

Get started on making any necessary changes based on your test results. Adjust your lifestyle in areas where there is still room for improvement or speak to your doctor about the results. Take advantage of our digital platforms and content for advice.

4. A second measurement

Measure your biomarkers again after 12 months and see the impact of lifestyle changes or new health interventions.

Follow-Up

Measure your values again

After a period of 12 months, employees will be given the opportunity to test themselves again. Based on the difference in results, the employee and employer gain insight into the success of lifestyle changes and/or company-level health interventions. This provides insight into the effectiveness of the applied interventions and whether the individual is on the right track.

The advantages

Options

With Homed-IQ it is possible to gain insight into your health in a simple way and to track biomarkers such as blood sugar, cholesterol, liver and kidney function, and key vitamins and minerals. Homed-IQ’s Preventive Health Screening and Corporate Health Check measure several key biomarkers from a single blood sample.

With successful international partnerships in the EU and UK, Homed-IQ is an experienced provider of home health testing kits for research use. Past partnerships include the UK’s NHS Blood and Transplant and the University Medical Centre Schleswig-Holstein. Our tailor-made services include 

1. Set up testing infrastructure (international)
2. Participant enrolment
3. Test logistic services (both to customer and laboratory)
4. Customised questionnaire functionality 
5. Laboratory services at ISO-certified partner laboratory
6. Results communication
7. Customer service (24/7)
8. Aggregation of result data for analysis

Our partners

• NHSBT
• UKSH
• Euroimmun
• Maastricht University
• UMCG

As a clinical partner, Homed-IQ ensures your study:

Runs smoothly: with our fully automated testing and analysis process, enrol large volumes of participants easily 

Is fast and efficient: get tests to participants in days with Homed-IQ’s advanced logistics system

Reaches more people: home testing methods are low-barrier and do not require participants to take time from their day to travel to a testing centre. 

Supports participants: Our customer service team is available daily to respond to participant questions and requests.

Provides results to participants: participants receive a test result in their personal account, incentivizing participation and providing them insight into their health

Protects participant privacy: Homed-IQ’s test system ensures that test kits contain no participant identifiers and that data is stored securely, maintaining the integrity and safety of your study.

What study participants say about Homed-IQ

The organisation (information, shipping) and the entire process worked perfectly and very easily. The individual steps were communicated via e-mail. Fast and smooth cooperation was guaranteed. – Respondent 1

I would take part in a study again at any time because the process was completely reliable from start to finish. The information was simple and very easy to understand. The time from receiving the test to the result was very short! Highly recommended! – Respondent 2

After requesting the test kit, I received it relatively quickly. The description of the handling is very well explained by video and paper instructions. Easy and simple! Shortly thereafter I received the result. Recommended! – Respondent 3

With Homed-IQ, researchers can focus on analysis and results instead of participant enrolment and data collection. Contact us regarding health research possibilities using our services.

You remain in control, while we handle:

• Laboratory analysis
• Test logistics from customer to laboratory
• Software integration
• Results provision
• Customer service (24/7)

Take advantage of Homed-IQ’s test system and customer service under your own brand:

• Branded packaging, online test activation, and results sharing portals
• Creation of custom tests that check the biomarkers you want
• Personalised intake questionnaires and email communication with customers

Our partners:

• OpenUp
• Mayd
• UMC Maastricht
• NHS

Interested in adding health testing to your business? We are happy to hear from you. Contact us to learn more.

Why do healthcare professionals choose Homed-IQ’s tests?

1. Bulk shipment to your business or direct shipping to clients 
2. Customer and medical support for all clients 
3. Interpretation of test results and a downloadable laboratory report
4. Results stored in clients account in order to track repeated test results over time

Test a variety of important health markers

• Vitamins and minerals (vitamin D, vitamin B12, folic acid, iron)
• Blood sugar 
• Cholesterol and lipids
• Inflammation (hs-CRP)
• Hormones (testosterone, fertility hormones)

And many more! View our entire product portfolio here. If there is a specific test you are looking for, please contact us. We are happy to work with you.

Focus on patient care, while we take care of the analysis

The Homed-IQ test process is an end-to-end service that includes shipping logistics, laboratory analysis, and results provision. Our easy-to-use services allow health care providers to focus on providing guidance, care, and support to patients while we handle the details of lab testing.

Interested in learning more about how Homed-IQ health tests can play a role in your practice? Contact us.