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What is a multi-employer clinic?

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What is a multi-employer clinic?

What is a multi-employer clinic? January 17, 2018

The convenience of healthcare located on an employer’s property is certainly a positive benefit for most employees. Access has been found to be one of the keys to taking advantage of healthcare services, resulting in better outcomes for the patients. However, not all companies are able to afford or have the physical space to accommodate an on-site health clinic. For those companies, another option is the multi-employer clinic.

Healthcare clinics that are near the employer’s site may be contracted by several different employers to provide services for their employees. In fact, such a multi-employer, near-site clinic may actually be more convenient for employees and certainly more convenient for employees’ families. Rather than being located on-site, these clinics are located in the community where employees and their families tend to travel for shopping or other errands outside of work.

Multi-employer clinics can help employers who want to offer the healthcare clinic as a benefit but who do not have the financial or logistical resources to sustain a clinic located on-site. Sharing costs with other employers can be beneficial in terms of cost savings and in terms of providing additional services that may not have been possible with a dedicated on-site clinic.

Company size is not a deterrent in an employer’s desire to offer the healthcare clinic. A recent Mercer survey found that most employers, regardless of size, see the healthcare clinic as a benefit to both employees and the organization as a whole. The survey found that of those companies responding, “63% say it has successfully reduced lost work days, and 58% say it has been successful in helping members control chronic conditions.”

The number of employer healthcare clinics continues to grow as their results are seen to improve productivity and reduce absenteeism. For smaller employers, especially, the multi-employer clinic offers a scalable solution to providing healthcare as a benefit.