The On-Site Clinic Debate: Go Virtual or Traditional

The real value of on-site clinics is being debated in benefit departments and C-suites across the country. The bottom line is, in fact, the bottom line: can you make the math pencil?
While the benefits are obvious (improved access, increased productivity), so are the downfalls:

• Building and staffing a clinic requires huge initial and ongoing capital investments;
• It requires people to be at work to be treated, Part 1: This is counterproductive when trying to prevent the spread of illness;
• It requires people to be at work to be treated, Part 2: Remote employees cannot utilize it;
• It requires people to be at work to be treated, Part 3: Other beneficiaries cannot access it;
• It requires people to be at work to be treated, Part 4: Employers that run multiple shifts need to keep the doors open round-the-clock;
• The clinics require a full-time staff, and suffer from part-time use;
• Full-time physicians are too expensive to staff; and NPs and PAs can only treat a subset of conditions; and
• Providing other, non-acute services (e.g., allied health professionals) is incrementally, and often prohibitively, expensive.

For years, the debate has been waged about whether or not to have direct access to healthcare at the workplace. And, consequently, there’s been an ebb and flow in its use and effectiveness.

Well, the debate is changing. With the advent and widespread adoption of telehealth, on-site care is now not only extremely affordable, but conveniently delivers care to any and all employees and beneficiaries.

With Amwell, there are many options to deliver care to on-site and remote employees and beneficiaries. Oh, and these include access to a nationwide network of doctors giving employees immediate (literally: our median wait time is 1 minute 42 seconds) access to real healthcare, 24x7x365. Here are a few ways you can use Amwell to again make healthcare your best benefit:

Telehealth on the web and mobile devices:   No worksite clinic? No problem. Amwell can be accessed on any computer, Apple or Android mobile device.

Telehealth via an unstaffed kiosk:  Our telehealth kiosk and console integrate with remote examination and biometric devices let doctors examine patients from a distance, which provides the most convenient way to let employees get healthcare at work.

“But will my employees like it?” you ask.  Don’t take our word for it: take theirs. Amwell enjoys a 98% patient satisfaction rating. This is based on a survey completion rate of 80%, so we’d say their answer is yes.

As you and your colleagues debate whether or not to build an on-site clinic, or to keep an existing one, change the conversation. Amwell can be your closing argument.

Learn more by downloading our slideshare below: