What are Onsite Clinics and Why do I Need One?

Haley Bass

Imagine this scenario:

While working frantically to meet a deadline, one of your employees is opening file cabinets left and right trying to find a document. In their rush, they forget to close the cabinet drawers, and another employee runs into the drawer, scraping their leg. You send your injured worker to the emergency room (even though this is a non-emergency) where they wait for hours and come back with a ridiculously high medical bill.

Now imagine this:

After the employee gets scraped by the cabinet drawer, they walk down the hall to an onsite clinic. They only wait for three minutes, get treated by a physician who knows who they are, and return just a few minutes later without a bill.

The popularity of onsite clinics (onsites) continues to rise as employers understand the incredible impact they can bring to the workplace. Onsites offer convenient access to health care, controlled health care costs, improved productivity and patient outcomes, and a personal connection to your company and workforce.

What to Expect with an Onsite

In the 2015 Mercer Survey on Worksite Medical Clinics, employers stated their primary objectives for establishing an onsite:

  • 91% said controlling health costs
  • 77% said reducing lost productivity
  • 74% said enhancing their health/wellness leadership image

With an onsite, employers can expect to achieve these goals and more. A good onsite is modeled and staffed to meet the unique needs of your workforce, and they can grow and adapt alongside your company.

One of the perks of having an onsite is the ability to address the whole health of an employee with a comprehensive health solution. Services can include occupational health and injury care, primary care, urgent care, chronic condition management, preventive care, physical therapy, and wellness programs. Staffing can vary from a single individual, such as a registered nurse or physical therapist, to a full clinical team that can include physicians, nurse practitioners, athletic trainers, nurses, health coaches, x-ray technicians, and support staff.

There’s also a personal touch you can’t find in an emergency room. Your onsite staff will be part of your company. They know your business, your culture, and your employees, which increases engagement and leads to better health outcomes. You also can’t beat the convenience of accessing health care services just a few steps away.

Benefits of an Onsite

In a 2014 survey from the National Association of Worksite Health Centers, nearly 70% of onsite employers said their clinics helped improve employee health, and almost 95% shared that their onsite helped increase productivity. And these benefits only touch the surface of what an onsite can do for your business.

There are several benefits employers can expect when they implement an onsite, including:

  • Controlled costs: by paying a flat rate for onsite services, you don’t have to pay additional fees for services and products provided to patients
  • Increased productivity: healthier employees can complete more work in a shorter time frame, they take less time off from work for treatment or sick days, and they have improved morale
  • Improved outcomes: lower costs and greater convenience increase medical compliance, the use of services, and patient engagement, all of which improves outcomes for current and long-term health

On top of these benefits, onsites provide an unexpected advantage in attracting and retaining top talent, especially millennials. A study by Fit Small Business found that 34% of millennials consider health care the most important benefit their employer can offer. Now that millennials make up the largest share of the U.S. workforce, it’s especially essential for large companies to have a competitive edge in the job market.

Improve Workforce Health with a Concentra Onsite Center

When investing in an onsite medical center, you want to ensure that you’re partnered with the best of the best. Concentra’s unmatched expertise in occupational health will provide you with a complete and integrated system of health tools to maximize participation and engagement of your employees in their own health, helping you achieve company health care goals. And we have proof to back up our claims.

A large manufacturer experienced a 20% decrease in workers’ compensation injuries just one year after their Concentra onsite was implemented.

A municipality with a Concentra onsite center now shows 19% lower claims costs overall.

Concentra provides flexible, scalable services that fit the unique needs of your workforce. We’ll also present meaningful measurements to track how the onsite is meeting your goals and improving the health of your workforce. And along with your Concentra onsite, your employees also have access to the largest occupational health network in the U.S., with more than 530 centers nationwide. 

Are you ready to improve the health and productivity of your workforce while saving money on health care? Learn more about the benefits of onsites by talking to a Concentra work health expert.