Employers that operate onsite care facilities report savings from improved health, lower healthcare costs, and increased productivity. This is especially true for large, self-insured employers.
Containing immediate acute medical costs is the primary goal of many onsite care providers. Still, they also provide services like chronic condition management and second opinion networks that may reduce future medical expenses.
Reduced Absenteeism and Lost Productivity
Whether it’s for a quick visit to the ER or a trip to the doctor’s office for an illness, employees who have to leave work during the day lose valuable time that could be spent on their jobs. This lost productivity can cost companies dearly. Fortunately, onsite care clinics can help.
Workers having to go offsite for medical appointments can cost the company lost wages, overtime for co-workers covering their responsibilities, and even higher healthcare costs. Onsite clinics, companies like Eden Health provides, offer employees an easy, convenient way to get the health care they need without missing workdays.
A recent survey by Towers Watson found that employers with onsite centers were more confident that their clinics helped reduce absenteeism and lost productivity. Depending on the company’s needs, onsite clinics can range from a single private exam room to a fully-equipped medical center with physician and nurse practitioner services.
Moreover, onsite care facilities can be customized to include telemedicine and other services that allow employees to get treatment via phone or computer. For example, Hamilton Health Box offers a unique hybrid model that combines in-person care with virtual visits and telemedicine to provide primary care, chronic condition management, urgent care, and more. This approach has been shown to improve employee satisfaction and increase engagement in the workplace while reducing costs for the employer.
Increased Employee Satisfaction
Employees can easily get medical care with onsite clinics without leaving work. This reduces time out of work for appointments and helps workers avoid costly medical bills for services they didn’t need. These savings can add up for employers, especially in the long run, as employee satisfaction improves.
Employers can customize their onsite healthcare program to fit their workforce and budget. Options range from an athletic trainer model for smaller businesses to fully staffed medical centers for larger employers.
Leading onsite providers offer comprehensive primary care with integrated teams of nurse practitioners, health coaches, and diabetes educators. They also provide telehealth access to help patients connect with their providers outside of the workplace.
Many employees find the convenience of onsite care attractive, as they can often get routine care, such as flu shots or physicals, without a copay. They can also get the same quality of care at a traditional doctor’s office, such as being seen quickly for an illness or injury and getting prescriptions immediately.
Onsite programs can benefit any company but are particularly important to companies that self-fund their employees’ benefits plans. When employees have easier and faster access to the care they need, overall utilization of their health insurance drops. This creates savings for the employer through reduced claims costs and a greater predictability in annual spending.
Reduced Health Care Costs
With onsite care facilities, employers can lower their overall healthcare costs. Employees tend to visit these clinics more frequently due to the convenience and affordability, leading to preventative care, early detection and response to illness, and better management of chronic conditions. Employees also get required physicals (for work, sports, and school) done onsite, saving them time and money that would otherwise be spent on outside providers.
Onsite healthcare centers also save on medical costs by reducing employees’ time away from their jobs due to sick days or medical appointments. Additionally, onsite care facilities can help reduce employer self-funded healthcare costs by lowering the cost of medications and services by leveraging their purchasing power to negotiate rates.
Another way onsite health centers can reduce employer healthcare costs is by increasing employee participation in wellness programs, leading to more effective disease management and preventive care strategies. For example, onsite health centers can provide annual screenings for cancer and other diseases that are often easier to treat when caught in the early stages.
Increased Employee Retention
Employees happy with their employer’s healthcare benefits are less likely to look elsewhere for work, reducing turnover rates and the associated costs. In the long term, onsite clinics help employees stay healthy and productive, resulting in lower overall healthcare costs for the employer.
In a competitive job market, onsite clinics can help companies attract and retain talent. Employees who see that their employers are invested in their well-being will be likelier to stick around, especially when the cost of replacing an employee is estimated to be up to 33% of their annual salary.
Onsite health centers provide convenient, high-quality, more affordable healthcare services than traditional options. These services include in-clinic blood draws, vaccinations, annual wellness exams, standard X-rays, and more, all delivered by nurses, NPs/RNs, and physician assistants. In addition, telemedicine is an increasingly popular service for many onsite centers.
Employees cite convenience, a sense of belonging, and better accessibility as the primary reasons for using onsite clinic services. The clinics also increase the likelihood that employees will seek care, reducing the number of missed days from work due to illness or doctor appointments. Additionally, onsite health centers can offer personalized chronic condition management, high-risk outreach and referrals, and lower-cost care alternatives to emergency department or urgent care visits.