Posts Tagged ‘Whole Health’
Qualcomm Developing Interest in Employee On-Site Medical Clinics
With employee health coverage premiums rising 7.7 percent last year, sick days have become more than a scheduling nuisance for area employers.
They are a threat to the bottom line, and one San Diego-based corporation pioneering a much-needed vaccine is Qualcomm Inc.
Working with Cleveland-based Whole Health Management Inc., Qualcomm is developing a comprehensive on-site medical clinic for its 7,000 local employees.
Qualcomm already operates a small on-site center for immediate health needs but it is planning to open a larger 5,000-square-foot clinic this summer. Details about what services might be offered are still being discussed, according to a spokeswoman.
The use by large corporations of on-site medical clinics is growing. About 100 of the country’s largest employers offer on-site primary care or preventive services, ranging from a nurse on the payroll to multi-room facilities with extended hours staffed by physicians offering services such as X-rays. The number is expected to grow to as many as 250 by year end.
Sara Crate, senior vice president of business development for Whole Health, said her company will open 20 new or expanded on-site medical clinics this year. The business started 25 years ago to serve NASA employees.
Company Clinics Cut Health Costs
Frustrated by runaway health costs, the nation’s largest employers are moving rapidly to open more primary care medical centers in their offices and factories as a way to offer convenient service and free or low-cost health care.
Within the last two years, companies including Toyota, Sprint Nextel, Florida Power and Light, Credit Suisse and Pepsi Bottling Group have opened or expanded on-site clinics. And many employers are adding or planning to add even more clinics, which were experimented with about 30 years ago but fell out of favor amid questions about their cost-effectiveness.
Today a new wave of clinics is opening, driven largely by a motive that was less of a factor in the past: employers’ desires to reduce their health insurance premiums by taking care of workers before they need to see outside doctors. More than 100 of the nation’s 1,000 largest employers now offer on-site primary care or preventive health services — a number forecast to exceed 250 by the end of the year, according to David Beech, a health benefits consultant.
Corporate America’s new in-house medical offices go well beyond traditional occupational health clinics that hundreds of factories have long maintained for job-related injuries and worker’s compensation cases. Employees can now stop by for check-ups, allergy and flu shots, pregnancy tests or routine monitoring for chronic diseases like diabetes and asthma.
When prescription drugs are required, some employers arrange for the pills to be delivered the next day at the office or plant, while others even maintain fully stocked pharmacies.
On-Site Clinics Offer Savings and Convenience for Employees
In an effort to contain health care costs, a growing number of businesses are establishing on-site clinics for employees and their families, as well as fitness centers and wellness programs.
The trend is being fueled by rising health care premiums. According to the 2006 Kaiser Family Foundation Employer Health Benefits Survey, released in late September 2006, employer health premiums rose by 7.7 percent in 2006. Although that increase is less than those of recent years, it is still considered burdensome by many employers.
“There is no question that on-site health clinics can deliver significant cost savings to employers, particularly when they take an outsourced approach,” said Kelly Victory, M.D., chief medical officer of Whole Health Management of Cleveland, Ohio, a company that provides on-site health and fitness solutions for more than 29 client organizations nationwide.
“We are able to save our clients money on their direct health care spending, in addition to their indirect costs, such as lost work time, lost productivity, and employee turnover,” Victory said.
Determining Applicability
Whole Health Management President Jim Hummer said health care is usually provided after preventable illnesses and disabilities arise. Instead, he tells potential clients, “We can help you achieve a healthier workforce that consumes less health care services and is more productive.”
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