5 Myths About Workplace Clinics
Workplace clinics are becoming more popular, with employers realizing the benefits of providing convenient onsite care to their employees. Even though the reach of onsite clinics is expanding, there are still a lot of myths that persist about them.
Here are five common myths about workplace clinics, and the truth behind each myth.
Myth 1: Workplace Clinics Are Only for Large Employers
Making a workplace clinic worthwhile requires having tons of employees who will keep clinic staff busy, right? Wrong!
While having a full-time clinic onsite is convenient for workers, the costs and logistical needs may make having a permanent option seem out of reach for some companies. Maybe you think you don’t have the space to house a clinic, or you’re not sure you employ enough staff so having someone in a clinic full-time seems unnecessary.
The Truth: There are almost as many clinic options out there as there are businesses!
Permanent clinic structures staffed by occupational health technicians (OHTs) are the most traditional model, but Medcor offers a variety of options to meet your needs. You can operate a nearsite clinic, a permanent clinic accessible by employees at multiple locations. Or, if your working conditions are more flexible, mobile clinics provide all the key occupational health services of permanent onsite clinics but in a mobile solution that can move with your team.
Myth 2: Workplace Clinics Are Only for Injured Employees
Workplace clinics exist only to manage sick employees.
Although many workplace clinics do care for employees who get ill or injured while at work, your onsite clinic can offer as many services as you’d like to provide for your workers.
The Truth: Workplace clinics run the gamut from available solely for those on-the-job injuries to offering annual wellness exams and chronic health condition management, and everything in between.
Medcor’s clinics are designed to serve the unique needs of you and your team. This can mean that your workplace clinic provides seasonal flu shots to all your workers, allows employees’ family members to receive no- or low-cost care, provides onsite physical and occupational therapy appointments to workers recovering from injuries and even hosts health and wellness contests. What your clinic offers is up to you.
Clinics that offer mainly injury-focused medical care typically are staffed by OHTs — EMTs, paramedics and registered nurses — and provide essential services. Advanced care clinics, which are staffed by doctors, physician assistants and nurse practitioners, can provide most of the routine medical care services your employees will need so they don’t need to leave work to receive great care.
Myth 3: Workplace Clinics Aren’t Confidential
In the early days of “workplace clinics,” many larger companies employed staff doctors or nurses who would handle many of the services that modern onsite clinics offer. These individuals may not have always been the best at keeping confidentiality — and may not have followed today’s HIPAA regulations — and that could have limited the number of people willing to visit the clinic.
The Truth: Medcor’s workplace clinics operate under the same confidentiality laws, ethical standards and information security regulations required of medical providers.
Medcor’s clinics are outfitted with proprietary technology that tracks and analyzes visit and injury data, but personal information about your employees isn’t shared. Their protected health data is safe and secure, and we routinely audit our security protocols to ensure that we’re maintaining the high standards we’ve set for our workplace clinics.
Myth 4: Workplace Clinics Aren’t High Quality
Because you’re offering medical care to your employees at work, they may think they’re getting sub-standard care. They may have visions of visiting the school nurse as kids, being given a glass of water and told to go back to class.
The Truth: Workplace clinics provide the same level of medical care — and more timely — than your employees will see from their primary care providers and specialists.
All OHTs and medical staff at Medcor’s onsite clinics are highly trained and experienced, and have specialized industry knowledge that allows them to provide exceptional occupational health-related care.
And because onsite clinic staff aren’t required to move a certain number of people through their doors every day, they can often take the time necessary to really get to know your employees and provide them with personalized, quality care. Your employees will build trust in their medical providers and be more likely to visit the clinic to stay healthy.
Myth 5: Workplace Clinics Are Expensive
Healthcare for your employees is expensive — and costs are rising quickly. If it costs this much to pay for insurance so your workers can receive care with their own providers, it must be even more expensive to offer a workplace clinic?
The Truth: Over time, you’ll likely find that your workplace clinic may even pay for itself on an annual basis in the cost savings — or even save you money over and above the clinic’s operating costs.
By managing many workplace injuries onsite, you’ll see a reduction in costs overall. When you’re sending fewer injured employees to the emergency room, and generating fewer workers’ compensation claims and OSHA recordables, you’re saving a lot of money.
Your Workplace Clinic Solution
At Medcor, it’s our mission to provide high-quality, convenient care to employers of all sizes. We offer a variety of workplace clinic solutions and can help you find the right match for your needs. Speak with an advocate today.