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The Philadelphia Inquirer on Wednesday examined how workplace-based health caution centers are "quickly gaining popularity among large employers around the country" wHO consider them "an attractive perk for employees, merely also a way to increase worker productivity and hold down pat health costs by treating problems early and expeditiously." According to the Inquirer, businesses and manufacturers "historically had doctors or nurses around to treat injuries or throw drug tests," but they increasingly ar adopting "a new template that offers work-site elemental care plus preventive services such as vaccines, wellness screenings and weight-loss counseling."
Watson Wyatt Worldwide and the National Business Group on Health this year released a survey that found the percentage of large companies that had an employee health concern center on-site or were scheduled to open a center side by side year increased from 27% in 2006 to 29% in 2008. According to the Inquirer, the survey did not include analyses of the costs for the centers on their businesses just the companies that already had centers said they mainly were focused in the main on enhancing productivity and generating savings. The centers' operators reported that employees spend less time away from work because of illnesses or physician appointments. In addition, the companies were able to deliver money through preventive measures, resulting in fewer visits to hospitals for emergency brake care.
According to the Inquirer, a "downside" of on-site health centers is potential breaches of privacy, through which bosses could discover employees' "infirmities or unhealthy lifestyle." In response, some companies experience hired outside firms, which must uphold the same privacy regulations as whatever other health provider, to alleviate those concerns.
Lale Iskarpatyoti, group and health care practice drawing card for Watson Wyatt, said that the number of on-site employee health centers has increased in the last four or five years as a way to shrink expenses because 40% to 50% of medical costs are joined to preventable conditions. Iskarpatyoti said on-site clinics ar effective for businesses with as few as 500 employees just typically serve companies with at least 1,000 workers. Iskarpatyoti added that companies must have at least 2,500 to 5,000 employees to justify an on-site pharmaceutics.
Edward Bernacki, head of the Johns Hopkins' Division for Occupational Health -- which manages about 50 clinics staffed by nurse practitioners and physician assistants at prominent U.S. companies -- aforesaid, "It's a great way to rescue medicine, particularly preventive medical specialty," adding, "Every day we're getting calls from other multinational companies that control an on-site clinic as a way to offset some of their health costs" (Burling, Philadelphia Inquirer, 9/3).
Reprinted with genial permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You tin view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.
