Companies Launch On-Site Clinics To Help Curb Rising Health Costs
As employer health care costs continue to rise, more large employers are providing on-site clinics that offer services ranging from primary care to pregnancy support and nutrition counseling, the Wall Street Journal reports.
About 30% of large employers have on-site clinics, and preventive services such as immunizations and health screenings are the most common types of services offered, according to a recent survey by Watson Wyatt and the National Business Group on Health.
Employee concerns over privacy in the clinics are usually tempered by the fact that they are run by outside parties. For example, Pepsi Bottling Group contracted with Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine to operate its clinics.
CHD Meridian Healthcare, Whole Health Management and Marathon Health are other vendors that specialize in providing workplace clinics, the Journal reports.
David Beech, a senior health management consultant at Hewitt Associates, said a clinic serving about 1,000 employees -- usually the minimum number -- can expect to save $70,000 in its first year for a company because of decreases in emergency department visits and self-referrals to outside specialists.
Companies also can save about $250,000 annually by the third year because of savings from better preventive care (Knight, Wall Street Journal, 4/9).