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The Business of Health Care Report
There is a new player at the health care table. In an environment of ever-rising health care costs, more U.S. companies are creating on-site clinics where workers have quick, convenient access to care for routine health concerns.
One-in-four Fortune 1000 companies are expected to have on-site clinics by the end of 2007, compared with 15 percent that have them now, according to Watson Wyatt Worldwide, a health care benefits consulting firm.
Services at on-site clinics can include routine treatment for concerns such as the flu or a minor injury. Clinic staff can also monitor an injured patient’s recovery after an accident, and some offer workshops on health concerns such as smoking cessation and weight loss.
The on-site care providers encourage employees to maintain a relationship with their primary care physicians and advise them to seek more advanced treatment elsewhere if their condition warrants.
On-site clinics have the potential to provide employees with convenient, cost-effective and time-efficient access to health care. The ultimate goal is to encourage a healthier workforce, reduce the time employees miss for sickness or doctors’ appointments, and prevent small health problems from growing into large health problems.
The development of on-site clinics could be one effective piece of a multi-faceted approach to transforming health care in America.
For Texas Health Resources and its faith-based hospitals – Harris Methodist, Presbyterian and Arlington Memorial – I’m
Doug Hawthorne.
©
2005 Texas Health Resources |
I'm Doug Hawthorne, President and CEO of Texas Health Resources, with
"The Business of Health Care Report."