Could An Onsite Clinic Be In Your Future?

Traditionally, I think of on-site medical clinics as something reserved for large employers who have centralized campuses. This morning, I read about one for an employer with 100 employees. And, the numbers shared in the article in Inc Magazine (Oct 2011) were compelling looking at the year before and after they put the clinic on-site in 2009:

So, what did the clinic look like:

1. The clinic was part-time (2 days per week).

1. The clinic had a pharmacy, an MD, and a staff of 4 nurses and PAs.
2. Visits , prescriptions, and lab work had no cost to the employees.
3. The clinic cost the company $144K / year through WeCare TLC Onsite Clinics.
4. Employees pay $50-$100 a week for coverage; copays for visits outside the clinic are $25; and copays for Rxs outside the clinic are $60.

BUT, ultimately, the key was soliciting other groups to co-share the clinic. They initially did it with the city and are now looking at another company.

Talk about leveraging a big-company idea for a small company. Assuming this approach could be duplicated, could this create a new model for physicians where they are splitting their time between multiple onsite facilities? Or would this type of model just exasperate the physician shortage?

Ultimately, one thing is for sure…this type of model will require better connectivity and access to information across multiple sites. But, it should leverage personalization and engagement and ultimately could be a huge opportunity for addressing preventative care.