Worksite Clinics – American Business Innovation

Key Words – Innovation, Worksite Clinics,Primary Care, Generic Drugs, Preventive Counseling, EHRs, Specialty Referral, Cost Savings

Summary of Interview with Lynn Jennings, CEO, WeCareTLC, Orlando, Florida

A:" Worksite clinics remove barriers for getting care. First of all, the clinics are free so there is no financial reason not to get care. Two, they are convenient, being at the worksite. Three, they are focused on getting the employees the care they need, the tests they need, the medications they need, the life style changes they need to reduce their downstream costs."

Q;. "Perhaps at this point, you ought to describe the model."

A:. "One thing we do differently is that we work diligently to manage the referral process. Our primary doctor interacts with the specialist to coordinate care and to bring patients out of the specialist market back into the primary care market. The other thing we do differently is to provide disease management, or lifestyle counseling. We have a three pronged approach: the physician, the nurse, and the patient working together to get the maximum impact."

Q: "My concept of the worksite clinic, working in near proximity to employees has these key elements. The worksite clinic, in a large enough setting to make it work, is run by a salaried primary care physician; dispenses free generic drugs or brand drugs if necessary; has an embedded electronic medical record containing best practice information; offers preventive and lifestyle counseling by an onsite nurse; and refers to a pre-selected network of specialists based on their performance and value."

Q; "How much money did you save?"

A: "Roughly 50% of what the actuaries would have predicted."


Q: "What is nature of organizations using these clinics. What is the mix?"

A: "Corporations, School boards, manufacturing, unions, country governments, city governments."

Q: "It is my belief business can move more decisively than government to control costs. After all, business survival and employee jobs are at stake. One of great potentials of worksite clinics in the large number of corporate sites available. I have read that there are more than 7600 sites in America with over 1000 employees, and that half of the Fortune companies will have sites working by the end of 2010."