Keihin North America, Inc., a leading manufacturer of vehicle engine management and climate control systems, returns to the drawing board each year to consider the ways their wellness benefits can be improved. In 2016, this meant the creation of three Healthstat onsite clinics at Keihin’s locations in Greenfield, IN, Tarboro, NC, and Muncie, IN.
However, the company faced a situation many wellness-minded companies come upon: How can convenient and affordable access to care be afforded to all of our associates? The answer lies in Healthstat’s VirtualCare, a comprehensive telehealth system that extends clinic services beyond a geographic area, including remote and low-population areas.
Keihin’s Capac, MI branch didn’t meet the metrics for a full, onsite clinic. But with the partnership of Healthstat and its VirtualCare system, the company was able to open a “virtual” clinic there in 2017 and offer the same healthcare convenience and affordability as its larger hubs. Now, no one misses out on the benefits of an onsite clinic.
Here’s how it works: Healthstat’s full-time clinician at Keihin’s Muncie branch connects remotely with the clinic in Capac through the VirtualCare system. This system includes video calling for patient-provider connection, electronic stethoscopes and otoscopes, and biometric screening equipment like blood pressure cuffs that feed data directly into the Healthstat EMR system. In this way, vital patient data is securely captured and logged, ensuring a continuity of care that’s dependable and on par with the services in Muncie. Everything from acute care for colds, sprains and strains, preventive services like screenings, vaccinations and lifestyle coaching, and chronic condition management for diabetes, hypertension, and allergy care are made both accessible and affordable for Keihin’s associates company-wide.
Along with these onsite tools, a fully-trained Healthstat medical assistant is on location at Capac to assist with virtual visits. The results so far have been incredible: The Capac site has seen 83% of its associates use the VirtualCare system, and recorded patient satisfaction is at 100%. Keihin’s looks to this type of benefit to lower employee turnover, healthcare costs and frequency of chronic illnesses.
With a provider delivering clinic services to both Muncie and Capac, two major advantages are realized. First, an enormously popular benefit is extended to an underserved location. Second, provider time is optimized with a full schedule rather than excess capacity or a cutback in hours.
David Hanks, a general manager with Keihin, praises the flexible and progressive nature of its wellness program, saying, “We’re always trying to innovate, [and] we’re always trying to do new things.” And the success of Healthstat’s affordable, convenient, and wellness-promoting clinics, both virtual and onsite, has proved to be a substantial asset in acquiring, and retaining, new associates to the Keihin family. “We have exceptionally low turnover,” Hanks adds. “Our associates are very happy. It’s because we think about [them] and we built this plan around [them].”
One of the added benefits of Healthstat’s VirtualCare is the ability for spouses and dependents to access the same services and wellness coaching offered to Keihin’s associates. And the VirtualCare system is set up so that the same clinician connects with his or her patients every time, ensuring a personalized, established patient-provider relationship often missing from other telehealth options. VirtualCare is not simply a video encounter with a rotating network of doctors. The service is fully integrated with Healthstat staff (MDs, NPs, PAs, Health & Wellness Coaches, and Disease Management Specialists), EMR system, and clinic processes.
With company health and wellness at the front of many employers’ minds, it’s good business to consider the ways in which coverage can be extended, rather than limited to the locations that are most populated and centralized. Healthstat’s VirtualCare system means that Keihin’s Capac associates now receive the access and continuity of care that makes their company-wide wellness program so inspiring.
If you’re feeling stumped over the problem of company-wide wellness, and especially if you have a dispersed and geographically remote workforce, then consider telehealth as the inclusive solution. Healthstat’s VirtualCare system is the next step in extending the reach of health and wellness services.
