Wall Street Journal features on-site clinics
Wall Street Journal features on-site clinics May 8, 2018
A doctor who sees patients in their office instead of his own is featured in a recent Wall Street Journal article that explores the growing trend among employers of providing on-site clinics for their employees. On-site clinics are becoming more popular as a way to ensure employees have the appropriate healthcare while saving the employer and the employee money. Employers are also finding that on-site clinics are effective incentives for recruiting and retaining employees.
Goldman Sachs, based in New York and the focus of the article, hosts a clinic for employees who can “access an emergency physician any weekday and see rotating primary-care physicians and specialists including a dermatologist and a gynecologist, as well as Dr. (Stephen) Fealy, the orthopedic surgeon. There are physical therapists on hand as well as a visiting physiatrist, a specialist in rehabilitation medicine.”
Another major company offering on-site healthcare to its employees is Cisco Systems, Inc., based in San Jose, California. As the Wall Street Journal points out, Cisco “offers both an acupuncturist and a chiropractor, along with primary-care physicians and pediatricians” for its employees in California, North Carolina, and India.
On-site clinics save employees and employers money, provide employees with convenient access to healthcare, and are an attractive benefit for potential recruits. With healthcare costs rising, employers are realizing cost savings as well as returns on their investment, as the rate of absenteeism decreases and employees become more engaged in their own healthcare.
The National Association of Worksite Health Centers director, Larry Boress, cited several studies in the article that point to the growth of on-site clinics. The article states that “A 2014 study by his organization estimated that 30% of American businesses of all sizes had on-site medical care for employees. By 2018, around 50% will offer the service.” A more recent industry study found that “an additional 11% of firms were considering establishing clinics by 2020.”
Dr. Fealy, the orthopedic surgeon who sees patients in their Goldman Sachs office says that he feels a bit like doctors who used to make house calls. As the article states, though, “Now, when employees all but live at the office, it makes sense to see them there.”