Many companies offer corporate health programs to their employees so as to keep their workforce healthy, possibly mitigating longer term health expenses and lost production from missed work days. These programs may include any or all of the following:
- an in house gym or a health club membership
- exercise classes (yoga, pilates, aerobics, etc.)
- a triage nurse, RN or Nurse Practitioner (either in house or on call)
- wellness labs (cholesterol, blood sugar) and biometric testing (weight, BMI, etc.)
- an in house primary care clinic
- a corporate doctor (usually a primary care physician, MD/DO)
The costs for the business can be quite staggering and the return on investment unclear. Certainly there is the perceived benefit by the employee of having these perks built into their benefits package. Nonetheless, most agree that corporate health programs are generally nice to have.
How can your business save money implementing a corporate health program without sacrificing quality? Consider retaining corporate concierge doctor for your business. With emerging telehealth / telemedicine technologies, a business can easily bring a board-certified primary care physician (PCP) right to the office without the expense of staffing an in-house clinic.
| Typical Corporate Wellness Program | Corporate Online Concierge Doctor using CirrusMED |
| Health Club / Gym | Health Club/ Gym |
| RN | Primary Care Physician (MD, DO) |
| 8-5 M-F (Regular Office Hours) | 24/7 access via telemedicine |
| Mostly Triage, Limited Diagnostics | Labs, X-ray’s, Referrals and Prescriptions as needed |
| EHR / Record Keeping | Personal Health Record and Cloud-based EHR Included in service |
| Office Space, Reception, Medical Assistant/Staff | No additional overhead expenses |
| Often will miss work for doctor’s appointments | Less Downtime, More Productive Employees |
| Wellness Labs | Wellness Labs |
| Cost: $42/mo/FTE*https://www.businessgrouphealth.org/pressroom/pressRelease.cfm?ID=207 | Cost: $39/mo/FTE |
| option of High-Deductible Health Plan, “fill the gap” using Cirrus Medical Network physician for primary care needs. | |
| Less Absenteeism, More Presenteeism.Clinical Doctor-supervised Weight Loss / Management Programs |
Some businesses will create a separate space in the office for televisit where employees can privately consult with their online corporate concierge doctor. Simply a private room with a computer, webcam, and headset would suffice. Additional interfaced devices could be available for use by employees as well, such as an blood pressure cuff, thermometer, pulse oximeter, glucometer, and otoscope. Cirrus Medical Network will provide a telehealth kit with all annual plans. Keeping the employees in the office will reduce absenteeism and improve productivity.
Cirrus Medical Network is working to partner with businesses that are interested in offering tele-primary care services. Small to medium-sized businesses, such as those with less than 50 employees may be faced with having to push their employees to seek ACA or marketplace insurance plans which may be less than ideal. Fill the gap and more with a 24/7 corporate online concierge doctor from Cirrus Medical Network to create a win-win solution for both employer and employee.
Lastly, health clubs and gyms may offer a telehealth service as a premium service to their members. Merging fitness programs, wearable health trackers, and an online physician, a health club can essentially sell the ultimate package to their members. Adding the clinical component adds credibility and may improve health outcomes as a whole. Cirrus Medical Network can add medically supervised and weight management solutions via telemedicine.
As televisits become more commonplace and accepted by the general public, it won’t be long before more businesses than not will have a medical consultation room and/or a telemedicine program in place.