Analyzing Modern Employers’ Health Care Goals
The expectations of employers for the health care provisions they offer their employees have become significantly more advanced and nuanced. Influences such as disease prevention, cost and quality transparency, and employee engagement platforms are driving these needs, according to the 2024 Business Group on Health Large Employer Survey.
Employers are keen on obtaining clear-cut information about the main contributors to health care costs, including factors such as prescription prices, prevalent chronic conditions, and late-stage disease detection. They are becoming more proactive in screening and prevention and encouraging platforms that heighten employee perception of cost and quality data, enabling them to make informed health decisions.
Moreover, employers are advocating for increased reporting, better provider quality measurement standards, and health care partners that meet high service standards and cost-effectiveness. Businesses are also open to adapting the services offered through onsite clinics, often extending primary care to facilitate wider access to comprehensive health care.
Onsite Health Care: A Boon for Employers and Employees Alike
Onsite clinics continue to be a preferred strategy among employers. These clinics contribute to managing health care costs, reducing health risks, decreasing absenteeism, and boosting productivity. Approximately 80% of employers credit these four factors as motivation for establishing onsite health care.
Furthermore, the success of these health strategies also hinges on the fact that both employers and employees value these onsite clinics. The majority of employers (83%) report high employee satisfaction with onsite clinics and 78% noted high usage rates.
Advanced Primary Care: A Growing Trend
Advanced primary care, a form of coordinated “Whole Person Care”, is gaining appeal among employers. This model focuses on building effective care team-employee relationships to promote trust – a crucial element in providing high-quality care.
Advanced primary care, although reminiscent of traditional health care models, is powered by modern and data-driven technologies which strengthen engagement and capture real-time data from various sources. This helps maintain transparency and encourages improvements in the health and social behaviors of individuals and employees at large.
The Concept of Whole Person Care
Whole Person Care takes a comprehensive view of an individual’s health. This approach focuses on the entire individual rather than isolating specific body systems or organs. Factors such as an individual’s biology, lifestyle, nutrition, mental health, and social aspects are considered in promoting health and preventing diseases.
Traditional primary care usually targets individual health problems, whereas onsite advanced primary care employs Whole Person Care that moves away from transactional care and focuses on holistic health.
Health Payment Models: Then and Now
Under the traditional fee-for-service health care payment model, each service provided to a patient during the visit is billed individually, promoting a more transactional nature of care.
Comparatively, the new upfront payment model through Whole Person Care guides clinicians to comprehend a patient’s entire health journey and tackle their health in the context of their history, habits, and personal reasons for wellness. It moves away from focusing on immediate problems and encourages the nurturing of relationships to address health care’s Quadruple Aim, which focuses on patient experience, population health, care costs and the wellbeing of care providers.
Advanced health information technologies have served as a strong catalyst in making this transition, giving a new perspective to health care.