Posted December 19, 2024 in Occupational Health, Onsite Care
Occupation Medicine | What Canadian Employers Need to Know
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Providing an onsite clinic for your employees provides your business with many benefits. You save costs on healthcare and avoid claims, your workers are healthier and happier, and you’re better able to recruit and retain top talent. To continue to provide your workers with exceptional onsite care, you must regularly audit the services you offer and adjust when necessary.
Here are four things to consider integrating into your onsite clinic in 2024 to keep your employees healthy, productive and happy.
Giving your workers convenient access to quality care for work-related illnesses and injuries is a great way to ensure the overall health and wellness of your workforce. However, your workers have a variety of other healthcare needs that must be met for them to be at their most healthy.
Screening for chronic health conditions such as diabetes and heart disease, as well as offering easy access to tests for communicable diseases such as the flu — and even drug and alcohol use — provides your employees with the tools necessary to take charge of their health.
If a worker has concerns they may have high blood pressure, for example, they can receive initial and follow-up blood pressure screenings when they report for work. There’s no need for that employee to schedule time off work to pay a visit to their regular doctor, and the occupational health technician at your onsite clinic can help them track their blood pressure readings and other symptoms over time and refer them out to a relevant specialist if necessary.
Workers who show up for their shifts showing signs of an acute communicable disease can easily be routed to the onsite clinic for a screening to determine if they’re carrying an illness that could spread to others. This helps you control the spread of flu, strep throat and other diseases amongst your workforce, helping everyone stay healthier and more productive.
Offering a selection of health screenings at your employer onsite health clinic can boost the overall health of your workforce, reducing the costs related to time spent off work for illness.
Keeping workers healthy goes beyond just ensuring they are free of illnesses and injuries; they also need the time and resources to improve their health and wellbeing. An onsite employee wellness program managed by experienced wellness professionals helps your workers set individual goals, benchmark their success and improve their work-life balance.
When workers are encouraged to set goals that promote eating wholesome foods, exercising regularly and reducing stress, and they have someone that can hold them accountable for making progress toward those goals, they are more likely to take the steps necessary to live healthier lives. And when workers are actively pursuing their own health and wellness, they are less likely to become ill and miss work.
Additionally, workers who feel that the company they work for supports them as a whole person feel higher levels of occupational satisfaction. This means they stay employed with you long term, reducing your employee turnover and helping you retain higher levels of organizational knowledge and experience.
Employees who suffer from mental health issues, whether they’re immediate crises or long-term conditions, may be at higher risk of frequent absence from work. They also may not be as able to put in the quality of work you need, especially if they’re having a crisis or experiencing an increase in symptoms.
Providing accessible mental wellness advocacy services, such as on-demand virtual mental wellness appointments, allows your employees to privately seek support when they need it most. They don’t have to worry about scheduling time off work, and they can use the service as little or as often as they feel necessary.
Offering mental health first aid training to your entire workforce, a practice that helps everyone identify the signs that a coworker may be in crisis and gives them the tools to connect the individual with resources, improves everyone’s wellbeing. It also fosters a culture of care amongst your employees, allowing workers to reach out if they are concerned about an individual.
The more space and resources you can provide your workers with to take care of their mental health, the more supported they will feel. They will be better prepared to tackle any challenge you put before them in their career, and they will be more likely to remain as loyal, valued members of your team for a long time.
Serving employees in your onsite health clinic is all well and good, but do you have the data to know how much your employees are utilizing the clinic and what they’re being seen for? Not knowing how well-utilized your clinic services are, and what types of concerns are most prevalent, means you’ll never know the true cost savings your clinic provides.
An onsite clinic provider that collects data relevant to your business — visit type, concerns presented and whether the employee’s concern was addressed completely onsite or had to be referred offsite — is an absolute must. However, for your onsite clinic to maximize its effectiveness, you need to be able to track that data over time and analyze it for trends and improvements. This will allow you to adjust how your clinic operates so it can better serve your workers and boost your savings.
Medcor’s onsite clinics are designed to meet the unique needs of your business and your workforce. From providing care for work-related illnesses and injuries to our advanced care offerings — where workers can receive health screenings, vaccinations and more — Medcor gives your team access to quality care conveniently. Ready to give your workers the care they deserve while saving you on healthcare costs? Speak with an advocate today.