Employee wellness impacts a company in many ways. Productivity, safety, and engagement all take a hit when employees are sick, and that is why more organizations are turning to onsite clinical care services to improve workplace health.
Clinics can help your employees navigate the confusing healthcare system, avoid missed work, and even save you money in workers’ compensation claims. Here is how.
Preventive Care
Employers have a strong incentive to increase the use of preventive care services to reduce health costs and improve productivity. However, the determinants of utilization are complex and vary by the workplace and workgroup. An onsite clinic can help reduce barriers to utilization by offering an employee-friendly, convenient, and accessible way for employees to access their care.
An onsite clinic can also be an excellent way to promote the value of health and wellness programs. It is a unique benefit that shows prospective employees you invest in your workforce. This is especially important in today’s tight labor market, as it can be an attractive recruitment tool.
Many onsite providers offer integrated care teams, including physicians, nurse practitioners, health coaches, diabetes educators, and behavioral health specialists working together to treat the whole patient and optimize outcomes. This increases adherence and compliance with risk-stratified care management, which helps lower large claims and overall claim costs.
In addition, an onsite program can eliminate out-of-pocket expenses such as co-pays and deductibles that deter patients from seeking health care services. This can significantly boost the number of medical visits, leading to better treatment and improved health outcomes. Employees who receive care at their workplace are less likely to miss work, which can boost productivity in both the short- and long-term.
Acute Care
Onsite healthcare clinics are one method of controlling today’s high healthcare costs, particularly for employers who self-fund their health benefits. Located on company property, these clinics allow employees to visit for everything from vaccinations and flu shots to health coaching, lab testing, and prescription medications.
Many employees need a primary care provider and help connecting with healthcare professionals. The onsite clinic can act as a bridge, helping employees find a PCP and providing additional education about available resources. This helps them be more proactive about their health, which can reduce costs for their employer.
For instance, an employee with diabetes can manage their condition and avoid expensive hospitalizations through better adherence to prescription medication. The onsite clinic can help ensure the employee gets the proper dosage, minimizing expensive readmissions.
Onsite clinics can also save on medical costs for employees with work-related injuries. Employees receiving prompt treatment for injuries or illness can return to work more quickly and minimize lost productivity. The onsite clinician can communicate with the employee’s provider to follow up on treatment plans, ensuring the proper steps for a quick recovery. They can even help the employee navigate insurance coverage, reducing claims costs for the employer. Ultimately, onsite clinical care services can add value in three key ways: improved health and wellness, lower employee costs, and improved productivity through reduced absenteeism and presenteeism.
Behavioral Health
In recent years, more attention has been given to addressing mental health and behavioral issues. This is because, like other aspects of wellness, these issues can significantly impact the overall health and well-being of employees. These issues can include addiction treatments, psychiatric conditions, marriage and family counseling, and more.
Employers need to offer employees a variety of wellness services that are customized to meet their specific needs. This is why some companies have started to consider providing onsite mental and behavioral health care services, which can be very helpful in reducing absenteeism and improving productivity rates.
Employees who suffer from behavioral health problems can cost their employers up to three times as much as those with only physical problems. For example, depression and stress are responsible for the high costs associated with illness and disability claims. Fortunately, employers can reduce these expenses by offering an effective EAP that provides access to a full range of treatment options.
To maximize benefits, employers should provide a comprehensive behavioral health program that includes case management, the most critical aspect of any EAP. A provider can help you manage your employees’ mental and behavioral health with a dedicated team of clinicians focused solely on these issues. This approach has been proven to improve outcomes and lower healthcare costs.
Wellness Programs
Many employers use wellness programs to help improve their employees’ health outcomes, and they can do so by offering onsite occupational health services. Employees who see a doctor in their workplace are more likely to get preventive care, have fewer on-the-job injuries, and be happier and more productive. Additionally, a wellness program can be an essential recruiting tool as prospective employees will see that the employer cares about their health and well-being.
Ultimately, onsite clinics can also be an essential investment for the company as they offer cost savings. They can reduce medical expenses by helping to prevent or manage costly chronic conditions. They can help employers manage their self-funded healthcare plans with reduced risk of cost spikes from emergency department use, hospital admissions, and lab tests.
In addition, onsite clinics can help to provide a personalized approach to healthcare by connecting employees to their PCP and providing additional education on available health resources. They can help employees navigate a complex healthcare system that often overwhelms them.
While several studies suggest that wellness programs can lower health costs, other research suggests that they may increase the costs of health-related benefits by increasing participation in programs that include biometric screenings, HRAs, and significant financial incentives. Further, recent evidence indicates that selection into wellness programs is biased and does not reflect accurate world population distributions of healthy and unhealthy workers.
