Here to Stay: Telemedicine for Workers

Access to healthcare at any time or location is now the new norm for workers. Telemedicine is becoming a highly valued benefit by team members working in the UK and abroad and has been shown to increase productivity.

What is virtual healthcare?

A comprehensive employee benefits package will include healthcare. Acting as an extension of this, virtual healthcare provides convenient doctor services and gives employees access to an extensive network of physicians across the globe. This is known as telemedicine – patients meeting with medical professionals remotely via telephone or video, through which they can experience a number of focussed services.

Connecting remotely allows patients easy access to specialists at a lower cost to their provider. Instead of paying for face-to-face consultation fees, which may reduce a patient’s benefit limit, telemedicine appointments typically cost much less and can also remove a barrier to quality healthcare that many individuals can face. Aside from financial barriers, telemedicine also limits barriers of distance, time, and exposure to the elements when feeling unwell.

How does virtual healthcare work for workers?

For workers, telemedicine can be available through their insurance provider or employer. Many global insurance provider solutions are proudly powered by Teladoc Health technology, putting medical professionals in front of patients worldwide.

Workers can log in to their app with a unique access code, which brings them to the available service options.

Once logged into the telemedicine portal, workers will be shown the virtual benefits available to them – GP, Physio, and Mental Health services, for example – and how to make appointments as necessary.

Why include virtual healthcare in employee benefits?

“Take care of the people that take care of your business”

Giving employees remote access to medical specialists comes with a wealth of benefits. Offering online medical access to employees can help them to feel:

• Healthy:  Putting your employees’ health first encourages well-being and efficiency. “Each year, more than a million working people in the UK experience a work-related illness. This leads to around 27 million lost working days costing the economy an estimated £13.4 billion”
• Valued:  Valued employees are often loyal employees. Employee retention is a cost-saving initiative, with hiring new talent costing businesses thousands of pounds more than investing in those currently working for them.
• Productive:  A happier workplace is more productive, and according to the University of Oxford, happy workers are precisely 13% more productive.
• Satisfied:  Whether with emotional or physical health, taking care of yourself often results in a type of satisfaction that isn’t gained elsewhere.

Add telemedicine to your employee benefits package

Amongst other factors, adding telemedicine to your employee benefits package benefits everyone involved. From staff well-being to retention to investment in your teams and cost-saving for your business, such benefits are desired by employees and employers.

At Teladoc Health UK, we are proud to offer the following healthcare solutions:

• UK GP Consultations:  Non-urgent phone or video consultations with GMC licensed GPs – consultations and e-prescriptions.
• Mental Health Support:  24/7 Mental Health Helpline, Anxiety, Depression, and Bereavement Support, Burnout Prevention and Stress Management, Child Assessments & Parenting Consultations, Mental Health Consultations, and Teladoc myStrength Emotional Wellness App
• Expert Second Medical Opinion:  Evaluation of non-urgent cases by our unrivalled network of over 500,000 world-leading medical experts in over 100 medical specialties. Brought to you by Teladoc Health, Best Doctors.
• Nutrition and Fitness Services:  Designed and personalised by our specialist team – Nutrition Consultation service, Health Diet Support service, Get Fit Programme.

Get in touch with our experts to discuss how adding telemedicine to your employee benefits policy can boost staff wellness and productivity.