Corporate Wellness and Retail Health Clinics

When we begin working with a new client, a comprehensive on-site health screening is usually the first order of business. In addition to giving employees the chance to learn their numbers (sometimes for the first time), it is a great opportunity for us to meet workers face-to-face.

For some of our clients, however, gathering everyone together for a screening can be a challenge--especially when employees work remotely. If part of your workforce is scattered all over the country, how do you design a wellness program that includes them?

Over at the Health Populi blog, Jan Sarasohn-Kahn writes that retail health clinics (such as the CVS MinuteClinic or the Walgreens Take Care clinic) are projected to grow significantly in the next few years. I think this is good news for corporate wellness providers, because retail clinics enable employees in remote locations to take part in a company-wide health screening. We have plans in the works to use retail clinics for just that purpose.

In her blog post, Jan argues that as health plans embrace retail clinics and consumers become more aware of them, their impact on the health care market is likely to increase. It seems like a win-win to me--convenience for consumers and (one would hope!) lower costs.

What do you think? Do you use retail clinics? Either way, share your experiences and thoughts in the comments section below.