Often, when we think of an employer offering an onsite health center, it’s viewed as an urgent clinic or a limited wellness service. It’s the place to go if you have the sniffles, you’ve cut your hand, or you need an annual flu shot.
And while these services are surely important to your workers, imagine the health improvements you’d see with a full suite of healthcare services, including primary care, chronic condition management, an onsite dispensary for prescription refills, and virtual care opportunities that cover both physical and mental health.
Chronic Conditions: The “Invisible” Cost
It’s become increasingly apparent to medical experts and providers—and employers offering healthcare benefits—that the real cost of healthcare lies in unmanaged chronic conditions. It’s not the accidents, seasonal illnesses, or workers’ compensation cases running up the bill. It’s unmanaged diabetes, hypertension, cardiac disease, and obesity that results in emergency room visits, costly procedures, expensive prescriptions, and months of time off work rehabilitating.
And many of these conditions are “silent,” meaning you may not know how pervasive they are within the workplace. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) notes that 6 in 10 Americans have a chronic disease—or roughly 133 million lives. What’s more? 4 in 10 have two or more.
These conditions—heart disease, cancer, chronic lung disease, stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, and chronic kidney disease—can appear benign on the surface. Many of us walk around all day with high blood pressure or high cholesterol without ever knowing it. But problems occur when these initial health issues go unchecked. They become unmanaged, and then they get worse, which results in multiple comorbidities that increase the risk of an emergency event like a stroke or heart attack.
Fortunately, almost all these conditions can be reduced or otherwise mitigated with preventive healthcare—routinely visiting a provider, getting seasonal check-ups, and adopting new lifestyle habits to reduce the risk of these common chronic conditions.
Healthcare That’s Proactive, Not Reactive
Think of all the times you’ve put off a preventive visit to the doctor or the dentist due to a lack of time, or a financial emergency, or a 45-minute commute across town that you’d rather not make after work. These are frustrating obstacles to traditional care models.
Consider also a recent online survey of 2,500 U.S. adults that found nearly 1 in 4 have avoided medical care because of the expense. This includes care like doctor visits, medications, vaccinations, routine blood work, and annual exams. This same survey found that millennials (ages 24 to 39, and the current largest workforce in America) are avoiding medical care at a higher rate than baby boomers (ages 56 to 74).
The next question becomes: How many of your employees are avoiding or putting off necessary medical care? How many employees have not visited their primary care provider in over a year? How many chronic conditions are currently unmanaged and out-of-control in your workforce?
The threat of chronic conditions is where an onsite health center can truly shine. By providing healthcare directly where employees can access it, you’re increasing the likelihood of those employees receiving important preventive care that keeps those common health risks from becoming full-blown—and dangerous—chronic conditions.
If you have an onsite vendor that’s equipped to offer virtual care opportunities, your community reach becomes that much more expansive. Employees who are permanently remote or are rehabbing an injury from home can set up telephonic or webcam-enabled appointments with their provider to continue receiving vital care. These services also provide a continuity in care for employees who may have previously visited the center in-person but are following up via phone: the same provider is there to talk through their care plan.
Patient-Centered Healthcare, Personalized
By providing an affordable, accessible alternative to traditional care models, you’re offering healthcare that mitigates the common obstacles of time, price, and convenience. A Healthstat health center can serve as a replacement to area providers with primary care services like:
- Check-ups and routine screenings
- Lab and blood work
- Chronic and episodic diagnoses
- Seasonal vaccines
- Referrals to area specialists
- Health coaching
However, what really allows an onsite healthcare benefit to impress are the services that can be added to its primary care model. Partnering with a valuable onsite healthcare vendor means having the options of various ancillary services that your employees need the most. This can turn an onsite health center into a one-stop shop for more than just primary care, including:
- Specific disease management programs for common conditions like diabetes
- Virtual care opportunities for remote or socially distanced workers
- Mental health services that provide 24/7 access to licensed counselors
- Occupational health that brings drug testing, substance abuse, and workers’ comp cases onsite
- A full-time physical therapist for rehabilitation and counseling
- A full-time dietitian for One-on-one health coaching
- One-on-one health coaching that help advocate for long-term healthy habit change
Healthcare That Fits Your Needs
Hopefully, you’ve learned that onsite healthcare or a hybrid model of onsite and virtual care outperforms an urgent care clinic or limited wellness program by offering a comprehensive suite of services. By partnering with an accredited and certified vendor with a proven track record of money saved and health improved, you can design an onsite benefit that speaks to exactly who your employees are and what they need today. Have your needs evolved one, two, or three years down the road? Your suite of services can change as your workforce does, meaning a growing health and wellness benefit that may very well be one-of-a-kind.
Regardless of industry, demographic, or healthcare needs, an onsite vendor will look to you like a partner in health: providing valuable insight and knowledge from decades of experience while listening to what services and programs best fit your workforce. By tailoring your healthcare benefit to those specific needs, you’ll find a partner that can deliver a full suite of health and wellness services.
Interested in talking with a Healthstat representative to see what healthy looks like for you? Connect with us. We’d love to hear from you.
