Shifting employees with any type of musculoskeletal injury away from hospital emergency rooms and into an occupational medicine center can significantly lower healthcare costs, improve access to care and reduce the impact of extended time missed from work.
Just as retail and urgent care clinics have seen a rise in business over the years for individuals and families, so have occupational medicine facilities for employees. Occupational centers provide services for minor emergencies, injury care, physical therapy and a range of occupational health services.
What these clinics also do is reduce expensive visits to emergency rooms and provide employees with an accessible, professional healthcare alternative. They extend a local health system’s reach and scope of services. The hours, the locations and the consistency of service increase patient satisfaction and help improve recovery times.
As the shortage of physicians continue to effect many towns throughout the U.S., the lack of having a primary care doctor will grow as well. Therefore, for an employee with no primary care doctor, an injury such as carpal tunnel syndrome may initially begin with a costly ER visit and end with continued hospital visits, which are not convenient or nearby for follow-up care, which instead could be treated effectively and efficiently in an occupational medicine center.
Occupational facilities are a win-win — providing employees with improved patient access to health services and providing employers with significant cost savings and a strong and healthy workforce.
