How Onsite Clinics Help Reduce the Cost of Workers’ Comp Claims

Posted November 14, 2024 in Onsite Care by Medcor

Workers’ comp claims are a significant cost for employers, with the National Safety Council reporting a total estimated cost of $167 billion in 2022. That works out to $1,040 per worker and an average of $40,000 per medically consulted injury, regardless of cause.

To reduce the costs of workers’ compensation claims, many organizations are turning to onsite clinics to provide necessary care to prevent work-related injuries and help decrease the costs when injuries do happen.

Why Workers’ Comp Claim Costs Matter

The cost of workers’ compensation claims can have a big impact on your business’s bottom line. Even one worker injury each year can cost you tens of thousands of dollars. Additionally, frequent or severe claims can cause your workers’ comp insurance premiums to increase and may even cause your reputation to decrease.

Some of the direct costs of workers’ compensation claims include:

Cost of medical care for worker

Cost of workers’ comp benefits for lost time

Legal costs

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) fines

Vocational rehabilitation for injured employees

Death and dependency benefits

And while the direct costs can add up quickly, there are some indirect costs related to workers’ comp claims that could cost your business far more over the years.

Additional wages paid to employees to cover for missing employees

Increased time paid to those handling workers’ comp claims

Claim investigation costs

Costs related to hiring temporary or replacement workers

Hazard mitigation costs

Extension of production deadlines

Expenses for training replacement workers

Costs to repair property or equipment

Increased worker turnover

Costs related to decreased reputation, including lost contracts

Increased insurance premiums

To illustrate how quickly the indirect costs can add up, of the $167 billion in workers’ comp costs to employers in 2022:

$37.6 billion was medical expenses

$50.7 billion was wage and productivity losses

$54.4 billion was administrative expenses

$15 billion was employers’ uninsured costs

$5.6 billion was damage to company vehicles

$3.7 billion was fire losses

These numbers make it clear that controlling — and, whenever possible, decreasing — your organization’s workers’ compensation claims costs is crucial to your long-term financial health.

Ways Onsite Clinics Help You Reduce the Cost of Workers’ Comp Claims

Onsite clinics aren’t just about treating injuries — they’re a key factor in changing the way you manage workplace health and safety. Having an onsite clinic that serves as your injured workers’ first point of contact after an incident can help you prevent workers’ compensation claims and decrease the cost of claims when they do happen.

Faster Return to Work

The duration of time a worker is away from their duties is a significant factor in the cost of workers’ compensation claims. The longer a worker is away, the higher the cost of their claim. An onsite clinic can speed up the return-to-work process by offering immediate access to care, reducing wait times typically associated with offsite medical providers.

When a worker receives a minor injury that can be managed with onsite first aid, onsite clinic staff can provide that first aid and get the worker back to their job immediately. This decreases the number of injuries that become claims while also returning more workers to their duties quickly.

For workers who do require offsite care, the presence of onsite clinic staff can also help facilitate a faster return to work. The worker receives a nearly immediate medical evaluation to assess their condition, and a quick navigation to appropriate offsite in-network care.

Once that worker gets treatment and diagnosis at the offsite facility, the specifics of their condition can be forwarded to onsite clinic staff. Clinic staff can keep track of the care recommended offsite, ensuring it’s appropriate for the worker and that they progress toward a safe return to work.

Better Injury Prevention

Prevention is the most effective way to reduce your workers’ compensation costs. The more work-related injuries you can avoid, the less you’ll need to spend in claims.

By having an onsite clinic, your workers get easy, consistent access to occupational health professionals who can evaluate their minor aches and pains or the conditions of their day-to-day work and make suggestions that can prevent injuries.

For example, a worker who has nagging shoulder pain can visit the onsite clinic to get seen. Clinic staff then observe the worker during their regular duties, perhaps even conduct an ergonomic assessment, and determine they are regularly using a piece of equipment that causes overextension of the shoulder. It’s determined that the piece of equipment can be moved just slightly to avoid that overextension, and the worker receives some minor follow-up stretching and strengthening exercises that take care of the shoulder pain.

Your onsite clinic has, in this scenario, just helped you avoid a potentially costly repetitive use shoulder injury.

Improved Safety Training

Training your workers to follow safety protocols is another key component to preventing on-the-job accidents and injuries.

Onsite clinic staff are uniquely positioned to assist in your safety training program. They understand the challenges your workers face and can identify the steps that can be taken to prevent hazards.

Either as part of your broader safety training program or as the leaders of the program, onsite clinic staff can lend their experience and expertise to helping make your workplace as safe as possible. Proper use of personal protective equipment, safe lifting practices and emergency response training all work together to protect your workers from risks and shield you from expensive workers’ comp claims.

Avoided Unnecessary Treatment and Claims

One of the hidden costs of workers’ comp claims is unnecessary medical treatment. If you don’t have an occupational healthcare program, you likely are sending far more workers for costly offsite treatment than truly need that level of care, generating medical costs and lost-time claims.

With an onsite clinic, every injured worker can be evaluated by clinic staff. Those who have more minor conditions that can be managed onsite can receive treatment without ever having to leave work. This saves you on the cost of that offsite medical care as well as helps you avoid a lost-time claim.

For workers whose injuries do require offsite treatment, onsite clinic staff can navigate them to the right medical facility for their needs, reducing the chances that they will receive treatment that’s inappropriate for their condition. This brings the cost of their care down while also potentially speeding up their recovery and reducing the lost time portion of their workers’ comp claim.

Your Onsite Clinic Partner

At Medcor, we take our commitment to helping organizations reduce the cost of workers’ comp claims seriously. Through our onsite clinics, we offer immediate evaluation of work- and non-work-related illnesses and injuries, treating workers onsite when possible and navigating them to the appropriate offsite care when necessary, saving you money and improving the experience for your workers. See what a Medcor onsite clinic can do for your organization. Speak with a Medcor advocate today.