Five reasons to offer virtual care to your remote employees

Learn how your organization can ensure your remote teams remain healthy despite distance

Whether the COVID-19 pandemic altered the makeup of your workforce through existing employees moving farther away or hiring new employees that live in other states, you’ve likely converted to a hybrid or fully remote workplace. 

As an employer, you’ve likely been faced with the challenge of offering the full advantages of your health care benefits to your dispersed employee population, especially if you offer a service such as an employer-sponsored onsite or near-site health clinic. 

Although an over reliance on technology is not the solution to the issues in the U.S. health care delivery system and in-person visits are still the best option for patients in many cases, virtual care services are a great way to bridge gaps in accessibility and add convenience to health care for your remote teams. 

With the most recent KFF Employer Health Benefits Survey finding that nearly 50% of employers with 50 or more employees feel telemedicine will be very important in providing access to health care in the coming years, virtual care is becoming an increasingly popular part of healthcare benefits, especially for remote employees. [1]

Join us as we detail the top five reasons your organization should offer virtual care services, also known as telehealth or telemedicine, to your dispersed population of remote employees below. 

#1: Improve recruitment and retention rates. 

With a recent benefits survey finding that 84% of employees plan to continue using or increase their usage of digital healthcare moving forward, telehealth has become an important additional health care benefit to your workforce. [2]

As an employer, it’s essential for both your recruitment efforts and retention rates to offer your employees the health care benefits they want. One report even found that 78% of employees are more likely to stay with their employer if they offer competitive benefits. [3]

Offering comprehensive health care benefits shows your employees that you care about their health and well-being. Showing this level of investment in your employees will encourage new ones to join your team and existing ones to stay for the long haul. It’s also important that the health care benefits you provide your employees include services for their families, further expanding the comprehensive care you show to your team.

#2: Reduce absenteeism. 

Whether you work with your employees in-person or virtually, it’s essential that they’re connected with a primary care physician to prevent chronic conditions from getting out of control. 

“Employers may have a base of 1,000 employees in one area, but they also have 30 here, two there, and so on,” details Raegan Garber Le Douaron, President and CEO of WeCare tlc. “Each and every employee still needs access to advanced primary care. How do we make that happen? By utilizing virtual healthcare services to bridge the gap.”

By offering your employees preventative care through an onsite clinic and telehealth services, you’ll reduce absenteeism and increase productivity by avoiding sick days and requiring less time off work for doctor’s visits, thanks to convenient, employee-sponsored primary care services.

#3: Experience cost savings. 

As an employer, it’s essential for you to search for ways to control your health care costs, while still offering quality care benefits to your employees.

With any amount you can save on medical costs being beneficial to your bottom line, it’s important to implement a combination of cost-saving services for your employees like offering primary care services, implementing a wellness program, or changing insurance carriers.

Offering a virtual care solution to your dispersed employee population can also offer your company cost savings. One study found that depending on the type of care the patient would have sought out instead of the virtual care visit, net annual cost savings for employers per telemedicine visit is estimated to be between $19 and $121. [4]

#4: Ensure continuity of care.

With the right healthcare solutions vendor, your team can ensure their health is monitored by the same medical team at all times, allowing them to establish a trusted relationship with their care provider. Not all vendors follow this model, but it can be extremely beneficial for both your business and your employees if you choose one that does.

If your team trusts their healthcare provider, they’re more likely to discuss the issues they’re facing and get them treated before they become major problems that cost them and you both money and time.

#5: Increase accessibility to care.

Virtual care is a great way to increase accessibility to care for employees that live in remote locations with minimal or low-quality healthcare options. 

If your employee does live in an area with high-quality care, it may still be difficult for them to visit the doctor for other reasons like limited transportation options, physical disabilities, or lack of care for children or elderly loved ones at home.

With the right vendor, you’ll be guaranteeing equal access to medical care at any time for your team. Many vendors that provide telemedicine services offer primary, acute, and urgent care to their patients on a 24/7 basis from a trusted medical provider, ensuring that your employees are cared for in the right way, at the right time. 

How virtual care works at WeCare tlc

Unlike certain providers that solely offer telehealth to refill prescriptions or treat urgent care needs, WeCare tlc offers our advanced primary care support through our virtual care service at all of our employer-sponsored health center locations across the country, at no extra cost to employers or employees. 

Our virtual care service is telehealth, but better! Instead of being connected to the first available physician like most services, we connect you directly with your own healthcare team at your employer’s health center, so you have access to the high-quality care you need from the people you trust.

As an employer, our virtual care service is especially beneficial for your remote employees who cannot attend an in-person visit for every care need. 

Patients can use our virtual care service to connect to their medical team for:

• Evaluation and management of symptoms
• Chronic disease evaluation and management
• Follow‐up visits and discussion of lab results
• Nurse health coaching and disease management education
• Prescription orders and refills
• And much more.

Through our partnerships, we also provide a program called WeCare Direct Ship as part of our virtual care service. It allows your doctor to submit your prescription to a contracted pharmacy that will mail the medication directly to your home with same-day turnaround and easy refill options. 

Our Direct Ship program leads to:

• Better compliance
• Cost savings
• Higher patient satisfaction, and 
• Improved outcomes.

Ready to support your employees in improving their health?
Explore details on our virtual care service or contact us today to learn more.

Sources:

1: KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation) | 2021 Employer Health Benefits Survey

2: Mercer | 2021 Health on Demand

3: WTW | Employees are more likely to stay with their employers when offered a group benefit marketplace

4: The American Journal of Emergency Medicine | On-demand synchronous audio video telemedicine visits are cost effective