OneLab is registered as a healthcare provider with IVO, the Health and Social Care Inspectorate, and our operations fall under the Health and Medical Services Act.
Why do you take capillary samples? Is such a small amount of blood really sufficient?
Blood samples taken in patient care are mainly venous and capillary blood samples. The choice of blood sampling method depends on what is to be analysed, how quickly the test result is needed, and which technique is most suitable in the given situation. Capillary blood tests are routinely taken in healthcare when the test results are needed quickly, in screening activities or for individuals who are afraid of needles or otherwise hard to perform venous sampling on.
Capillary sampling usually means a more time-efficient and safe process. The technology is not applicable for all markers, but is used in healthcare for, among other things, analysis of hemoglobin, blood sugar level, and glycosylated hemoglobin, blood fats and C-reactive protein. With the right sampling technique, capillary sampling provides a high quality of analysis. In case of incorrect technique, tissue fluid can seep out and affect the concentration determination, and to avoid this, a blood volume that is 25% larger than the minimum volume is taken. Haemolysis, when red blood cells break down, is avoided in modern accredited labs by a haemolysis barrier, which means that the test result is not obtained above a certain degree of haemolysis.
In occupational health care and screening activities of healthy individuals, capillary samples are sometimes preferred due to the risk of haematoma, nerve damage and fainting that venous sampling techniques can entail. The technology often also means that a higher participation rate is reached. OneLab’s samples are only analysed by SYNLAB, an accredited laboratory that is also used by the primary healthcare system.
Which tests are included in the different health examinations?
Please get in touch with forsaljning@onelab.se if you are interested in the exact contents of our different health examinations.
Do you only test these values?
OneLab has designed health examinations that aim to find early risk markers for cardiovascular disease, diabetes or severe stress, which are our most common public diseases and causes of death in Sweden. The risk of being affected by the diseases we screen for can be changed to a large extent with one’s lifestyle, and the employer can also play a part in promoting good health.
Since we provide occupational health care, the examination should also have relevance to work-related problems. Examinations that do not fall under the scope of occupational health care must be taxed as a benefit.
Can we run additional tests on the samples we collect?
Our procedure for blood samples is designed specifically for the samples included in our health examination. This means that our test tubes and our analysis processes are adapted to the specific samples. This in turn means that it is not possible to run more test on the blood sample taken during the health examination. If you have an additional blood test that you would like to take, which is not included in our health examination, you can contact your primary care provider for assessment and possible sampling.
Why is PSA screening not included?
We follow the Swedish Social services’ guidelines, which currently advise against broad PSA screening, since many men are diagnosed with prostate cancer and receive treatment even though the cancer would never have developed into a serious disease. There are significantly more men who are treated unnecessarily after PSA tests than are cured of a life-threatening cancer. The treatment also often produces lasting side effects. Therefore, the Swedish Social services have assessed that the advantages of general PSA tests do not outweigh the disadvantages in a generally broad screening perspective.
As an individual, however, you can evaluate the possible advantages and disadvantages in a different way, especially if you have a close relative (brother or father) who has been affected. In these cases, we can offer PSA via referral from one of our partners. However, PSA is unfortunately not a test included in the framework of occupational health care.
Why don't you perform vision, hearing and physical tests?
Our health examination mainly aims to detect hidden ill-health. Providing vision and hearing tests as an employer can certainly be considered, but these are usually problems that you notice yourself and also always have to be performed and followed up by specialists.
A cycle test during a health examination can create a barrier for the individuals to complete the examination. People who know that their fitness level is lower than desired may find it discouraging and choose not to partake in the examination at all. Therefore, you miss a large and important group that has hidden ill health that we want to catch.
Why do you measure BMI?
BMI can serve as an indication that you should investigate more closely how weight affects your health, as well as enabling you to compare your own BMI at different times to see how your body weight changes over time. The BMI value in connection with the fat reserves in the blood can also give a good and clear overall picture of the individual’s possible health risks. However, BMI is not an accurate measure of how healthy your body weight is. BMI, for example, does not take into account whether you have a greater muscle mass or how the fat is distributed on the body, and thus cannot distinguish between dangerous abdominal fat and a more even and healthier distribution of body fat.
Should you or an employee find the question about weight and height provocative, the option not to answer the questions about weight and height is always available.
Is the Digital health check reliable?
The digital health check is based on clinically validated question batteries, which means that the question batteries have been researched to make the correct assessment for each health area. The question batteries are also used within the Swedish health care system today.
The health check is also dynamic, which means that the questions are determined based on your answers to previous questions in the survey. It leads to increased engagement, and thus increased response rate, as well as increased medical quality. If medical sampling has been carried out, the medical test results together with the questions in the digital health check are always weighed together so that the result is as reliable as possible.
What information do you need in the employee list before the health examinations?
The information needed is first name, last name, email address and any filers. If your employees are spread out and are to be invited to different offices, it needs to be stated which location in the filters. We do not need to have the employees’ personal identity numbers at this stage, since this is something that the nurse registers on site. See further instructions on the designated Employees page in the HR platform for how to upload your employee list.
Is it possible to add more employees to the health examinations later, even after we have decided the dates for the health examinations?
In order for us to be able to plan the health examinations in the best way and ensure that all employees get a booked appointment, we need to receive information as early as possible about how many employees will be invited. Having said that, we are often able to book in individual employees closer to the day of the health examination, but the sooner we receive information about additional employees, the greater the chance that we can adjust our schedule.
Can we book more dates in case many of our employees cannot come on the designated days?
The dates we book for you are the dates we come out to your office for sampling. If for some reason you have not been able to make it to your designated time, we offer a home kit. Then you have the opportunity to take the sample yourself at home and send it to us for analysis. In this kit you get everything you need to be able to do the sampling, including materials and an instructional film. It is important that employees receive clear information about which dates apply in good time so that they can make themselves available.
Can we get a list of the appointments reserved for our employees?
To protect medical confidentiality, we want to avoid sharing information that could lead to understanding who chooses to participate and who chooses not to participate. The medical examination is voluntary and the employees must feel that they have the opportunity to choose for themselves whether they want to participate. Should it in any way be operationally critical to be informed about the individual bookings for the health examinations, we ask you to write in the support chat in the HR platform.
How do I rebook or cancel an employee's appointment?
The employees themselves can reschedule and cancel their appointments directly in the app, in the desktop platform or via the link in the invitation. There, employees can see which times are available and can choose a new time themselves. In case of rebooking or cancellation, the employee always receives a confirmation email. We always recommend that the employees themselves cancel and reschedule their appointments so that there are no misunderstandings. Appointments can be rebooked and canceled free of charge up to 24 hours before the appointment. Should problems arise regarding this, please contact info@onelab.se.
Do you contact employees for counselling after the health examination?
When the results of the health examination are ready, each employee receives a notification via email from us. If health risks have emerged, we always encourage the employee to book a consultation with one of our nurses, or alternatively write to us in the employee platform to receive nurse advice in written format.
In the event of significantly deviating values in the health examination that require medical follow-up, a doctor calls the employee by telephone. In the event of results from the digital health check showing alarmingly high stress, high anxiety and/or suicidal thoughts, a nurse calls the employee by phone to follow up and provide advice.
Should OneLab's services be taxed as a benefit?
In general, our assessment is that the services that OneLab offers with the aim of identifying work environment risks, preventing physical and psychological risks at work, and mapping the need for possible rehabilitation, are not subject to benefits taxation according to Swedish tax law if the services are part of the employer’s work environment management and are adapted to the risks that exist in the workplace and that the services are aimed at an entire organisation or group. If you, as an employer, have more questions connected to benefit taxation, you are welcome to contact your Customer Success Manager.
Why are there old users in our employee list?
The employees who have ever been linked to your company in a previous exam remain in your employee list until they are deleted. It is not something that you have been billed extra for as long as they are not invited to a health examination or check-up. We recommend that you carefully go through all the employees on the list before your next round of examinations. Using the import feature under the Employees tab, you can add, update or delete users.
What happens if I delete an employee?
The person in question will no longer have access to OneLab’s health platform. The previous statistical results in the HR platform will not be affected by removing employees who are no longer employed at your company. If a previous employee would like extracts from their test results, they can contact us at info@onelab.se.
How should I think about group divisions and filters?
If you want to be able to filter and compare the results between different parts of the company, you can use filters. For example, you can have a filter group for departments and compare the results for your different departments. Under the Employees page, you can assign which filters your employees belong to.
Keep in mind that the aggregate result of your filters may be limited for privacy reasons. A filtering will be hidden if you can somehow isolate groups of fewer than 6 results through the filtering. Adding, editing or removing filters and filter groups does not change historical results. Keep in mind that it should feel relevant to analyse each group’s data. In the platform, you automatically receive a division into biological sex for the health data.
What is meant by benefits?
Benefits are, for example, wellness allowance, health care insurance, wellness hours or other health and wellness-related benefits that you offer your employees. We recommend that you upload information about your benefits in the HR platform so that your employees can have access to the information in connection with receiving their results in their employee platform. In addition, OneLab’s medical staff can encourage and remind employees about the company’s health benefits during the counselling sessions. In this way, we can help employees get the right help and promote usage of your benefits.
How is personal data handled?
Please see the page Privacy policy in the footer of this page.
How can I as an employer ensure that participation in the health examination is as high as possible?
Communicate internally and tell your employees about the collaboration with OneLab before we send out the invitations to the examinations. In addition to that, internal reminders, as well as you as an employer communicating that the survey is the basis for work environment management going forward, usually have a good effect on the participation rate. Feel free to share our communication material provided in the HP platform on the intranet or via email.
Can we have a list of every participating employee?
To protect medical confidentiality, we want to avoid sharing information that could lead to understanding who chooses to participate and who chooses not to participate. The medical examination is voluntary and the employees must feel that they have the opportunity to choose for themselves whether they want to participate. If you need a more detailed basis for the invoice, please ask for it in the support chat in the HR platform.
How can I best convey the results of the health examinations to the employees?
Communicating the organisation’s results to employees can be beneficial for work environment management. We always recommend presenting any initiatives and efforts in connection with presenting the results to the working group. Sharing the organisation’s results and planned efforts shows that you as an employer care and actively work with identified risks in the work environment.
However, share the result thoughtfully, if the result is sensitive, if you are a small work group or similar, it may be better to only convey high-level results and to exclude certain parts of the result for that reason. You can also consider only commenting on the results verbally and not showing the actual data in the platform, as red numbers and bars can feel revealing. Above all, you can also focus on talking to the employees about what you want to change and improve based on the data from the health examinations, what efforts you intend to make going forward. Here we recommend making a balanced decision based on culture, cohesion, trust, and other relevant factors in your organisation.
This is a collection of the answers to the most common questions we receive. If you do not find an answer to your question here, you can always contact cs@onelab.se.
OneLab is registered as a healthcare provider with IVO, the Health and Social Care Inspectorate, and our operations fall under the Health and Medical Services Act.