Staffing your on-site or near-site employer clinic
Staffing your on-site or near-site employer clinic August 21, 2017
Employer clinics offer convenience for employees, help reduce costs for employers and employees, and may even encourage some employees to take a more active role in their own healthcare. An on-site or near-site employer clinic generally provides basic preventive and diagnostic services. Additional services, such as a pharmacy, an x-ray facility, nutritional counseling, or an on-site lab may also be offered. How you determine staffing needs for your on-site or near-site employer clinic depends on which services you will offer and which model you use for your operations.
A recent article from Twine Health offers a list of suggestions for basic staffing needs:
- A practitioner. Depending on state laws and your operating model, the practitioner could be a primary care physician, a Nurse Practitioner (NP), Physician’s Assistant (PA), or even a Registered Nurse (RN).
- A health coach. The coach is a separate person who works with patients to keep them motivated toward making the right choices and becoming engaged in their healthcare plan. The role could be filled by a certified health coach or an RN. Patient communication is a key aspect of the health coach’s role.
- The clinical support team. This is the group of people responsible for patient management. They will include a Medical Assistant (MA) or a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) who can take blood, assist patients to and from exam rooms, and generally keep the flow of the clinic moving smoothly and keep patients happy.
- A specialty provider. If your clinic offers ancillary services such as nutritional counseling, a pharmacy, or a lab, you will need the appropriate staff for these areas of care. The primary care practitioner will need to collaborate with the specialty providers to ensure quality coordinated care for the patient.
- The operational support team. Your clinic cannot run efficiently without a quality team responsible for billing, scheduling, and other administrative tasks essential for practice management.
Depending on your operational model and your state’s laws, you may need to staff your on-site or near-site employer clinic with some or all of these team members.
