what’s working
According to heath information
Recent research
technology company Cerner, onsite
shows that modern
health clinics are expected to grow
primary care doctors
at 15 to 20 percent per year, and
in traditional clinics
benefits consultant Mercer reports
juggle about 2,300
that 30 percent of companies with
patients each, spending
— Michele Beehler, human resources manager, SEL
more than 5,000 employees offer
just 15 minutes per
some type of onsite or near-site
o ffi c e v i si t. Ha r r i e d
primary care.
providers don’t have time to answer questions or explain
Many companies don’t stop at one clinic: Cerner reports
their recommendations, so fewer patients get needed
that 40 percent of employers who offer onsite clinics have
follow-up care. In traditional primary care settings,
two to five. Schweitzer opened a second onsite clinic in
just 55 percent of patients get recommended chronic
Lewiston, Idaho, about 30 minutes from Pullman, this March.
or preventative care, and up to 80 percent have an
Onsite clinics deliver significant results, from cost savuncontrolled chronic health condition like high cholesterol
ings to employee satisfaction to all-around better health
or high blood pressure.
outcomes for workers, says Ryan Schmid, CEO of Vera
When providers have ample time with each patient,
Whole Health, a Seattle-based company that establishes
preventative care rates go up, and cost for emergency care
and operates onsite clinics across diverse industries. Recent
services goes down, driving down overall health costs. On
Vera success stories include thriving onsite clinics at Seattle
average, Beehler says, Schweitzer’s health care providers
Children’s Hospital and the City of Kirkland.
spend around 30 minutes per visit, and each provider’s
Vera reports that onsite clinics generate a 10-25 percent
patient load is significantly smaller than that of a typical
net cost savings for self-funded employers and a 100-268
primary care doctor.
percent return on investment (ROI). According to Cerner,
model patients
onsite clinics offer ROI as high as $6 for every dollar spent.
The health care providers at Schweitzer’s onsite clinics are
After SEL transitioned to a self-funded health plan in
Schweitzer employee-owners, just like the patients they
2012, management realized that onsite primary care could
treat. By contrast, Vera operates the clinics it establishes
deliver more efficient, effective healthcare. In its first year,
for clients; the health care providers staffing the clinics are
the onsite clinic generated a 25 percent cost savings.
Vera employees.
SEL’s clinic, which serves its 2,200 Pullman-based
Either model can work well, Schmid notes, but adding
employees and their families, is on track to save the
a layer of organizational separation between the onsite
company $1 million this year, which includes $142,700 in
medical staff and their patients can offer some peace of
employee hours and $150,230 in employee co-pays.
mind for employees concerned about privacy.
Employee satisfaction got a boost, too, says Beehler. “The
“The security and p