How the right on-site facility lowers costs, improves health management

Leonard Eisenbeis, director, Clinical Health Operations, UPMC WorkPartners
Leonard Eisenbeis, director, Clinical Health Operations, UPMC WorkPartners

On-site workplace centers have grown in recent years from being traditional in-house occupational health clinics where someone who was injured on the job could get basic care, to more extensive total health management centers that offer acute care treatment, health and wellness programs, health coaching, behavioral health assistance and chronic disease management.
Not all on-site facilities are right for all employers, but many different-sized companies are finding models that make sense for them.
“Studies have shown that only about 25 percent of large, self-insured firms offer some type of workplace center,” said Leonard Eisenbeis, director of Clinical Health Operations for UPMC WorkPartners, an affiliated company of UPMC Health Plan. “But, studies have also shown that the number of companies planning to open a worksite center doubled between 2007 and 2011 because employers are looking for a way to lower health care costs and support their bottom line.”
Smart Business talked with Eisenbeis about on-site services and why they can make sense for some employers.
What are some of the benefits that employees receive in on-site centers? 
An on-site health management center is attractive to employees because it provides convenient and timely treatment for a set of acute conditions. It also replaces what, for the employee, would be a more costly visit to an emergency room or urgent care facility. Additionally, the center can monitor employees’ chronic conditions, which can easily be relayed to their primary care provider or medical home, improving overall total health management.
What are some of the benefits employers see with on-site centers?
Employers like the fact that on-site centers reduce employees’ lost time from work, which increases productivity. In addition, a good on-site center can help generate employee awareness through physician referrals by engaging at-risk employees in a comprehensive management of lifestyle behavior and disease management. Also, directly avoidable health care costs — such as physician visits, urgent care and emergency room use — can be diminished through on-site centers.
What are some features you can expect at an on-site center?
On-site center staff provide primary care support and on-site care for acute health care services, such as headaches, minor injuries, sore throats, sprains and strains.
You can expect the center to be a front door to occupational health services, where occupational injuries can be reviewed quickly and triaged, and occupational health exams, drug testing and OSHA reporting could take place. Good on-site total health management centers provide health and wellness education and referrals. Employers may include prescription medication services by providing a courier service to deliver prescriptions to employees.
Is there one model for on-site centers?
No. Employers can choose from several delivery methods to find the one that works best for their individual companies. For instance, they can have on-site health centers, or they can have a ‘near-site’ center within several miles of the employer’s campus to be used by employees who work at different sites. Another form of on-site services is mobile medical units, which are a cost-effective option for targeted medical services or testing.
Employers also may take advantage of telehealth technology within an on-site center to effectively service a number of worksite campuses. Telehealth is a remote health management application that links employees from an on-site health center to a physician or provider using interactive videoconferencing, voice and data systems, and embedded peripheral devices.
Telehealth is becoming more popular because this technology could allow an employer to install telehealth equipment with a nurse or medical assistant and transmit a patient encounter to a provider, greatly increasing the affordability of on-site care and financial return on investment. There are many options in the deployment of telehealth that make providing total health management care very scalable to companies of all sizes.
Leonard Eisenbeis is a director, Clinical Health Operations at UPMC WorkPartners. Reach him at (412) 454-4960 or [email protected].
 
Save the date: Join UPMC WorkPartners for an upcoming webinar, “The Next Generation Worksite Health Center,” at 10 a.m. April 24. To register, contact Lauren Formato at (412) 454-8838 or [email protected].
 
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