Are on-site clinics for employees only?
Bloom: The availability of each company’s clinic services will differ, as each company must remain compliant with its unique policies and procedures. Some organizations offer clinic services to family members as well, but others limit the services to only employees. This decision may rely on building/clinic access, space and employee demand for clinic services.
Who pays for the services?
Bloom: In this Tenet model, BankAtlantic employees pay the clinic the same co-pay that they would at an external doctor’s office and the clinic bills the insurance company. We also offer companies the option of paying a per-member fee, which allows the employer to offer clinic services to employees at no cost.
What are the benefits of an on-site clinic?
Levan: Time is a precious commodity, and this is a convenience for our employees. If they have a health issue, rather than taking time off to see an off-site physician and sitting in a waiting room, they can schedule an appointment for the on-site clinic, spend 10 minutes with the doctor, and be back at work. Or, they can just stop in and see the doctor if he’s available, and still have time left over for lunch.
If people are going to take time off, I’d rather this time be spent with their families, not sitting in a doctor’s waiting room.
Bloom: When employees feel ill, they sometimes think, ‘Maybe I’ll go to the doctor if work permits or if my doctor can see me today.’ Accessing convenient health care can be a challenge, especially with mounting work responsibilities and limited physician appointment availability. An on-site health clinic may reduce these barriers and increase the likelihood that employees will seek the health care they need in a time-efficient manner.
The clinic provides tremendous value when you look at market conditions. Employers must contain costs associated with employee health and benefits. Some insurers are raising their rates to employers; some employers are raising rates to employees. But here’s a value add where employers can provide employees with the opportunity to conveniently access preventive health and wellness services. This thereby increases productivity, creates employee satisfaction and, for the employer, it’s an initiative that encourages a better and healthier workplace.
Looking forward, I project that employers will experience the additional benefit of a healthier workplace as a result of easy access to health care.
Craig Bloom is the regional director of strategic operations of the Florida region of Tenet Healthcare Corporation. For more information on Tenet Healthcare, contact Shelly Weiss Friedberg at [email protected]. Jarett Levan is the CEO of BankAtlantic. For more information on BankAtlantic, contact Sharon Lyn at [email protected]
