Rural businesses adding on-site clinics, which may ease access but raise privacy concerns

Some companies are making it easier for rural employees to get basic medical care without having to use sick days or take time off from work to see a doctor by "adding onsite medical clinics that dispense bandages, handle infections and occupational injuries, and, increasingly, monitor and treat the chronic conditions such as diabetes and hypertension that account for 65 percent of all corporate healthcare spending," Lauren Weber reports for The Wall Street Journal. But some fear that the clinics lead to an invasion of privacy, and that companies are pushing treatment on employees to prevent paying insurance claims. (WSJ photo by Jeremy Lange: A clinic at Hanesbrands Inc. in Winston-Salem, N.C.)

Wayne Farms LLC, a chicken processor with plants in Arkansas, Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi and North Carolina, has two onsite clinics and plans to open more, Weber reports. It saves employees money; they pay $10 at the onsite clinic, compared to their $20 co-pay at off-site locations. Helen Nelling, director of benefits and compensation, told Weber, “We have facilities in the middle of nowhere so if you have to see a provider, it takes a very long time away from work." That's beneficial to employees, who are paid hourly, and don't get paid when they leave work for personal reasons. Plus, they are penalized for lack of attendance. (Read more)

Wayne Farms isn't an oddity when it comes to on-site medical services. According to Towers Watson, a company that says it helps organizations improve performance through effective people, risk and financial management, 28 percent of U.S. companies had workplace clinics in 2012, and 39 percent are planning to have them by 2014.

But some clinics are also used "to aggressively nudge employees about long-term, expensive conditions such as diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol," Weber writes in another story for the Journal. "The clinics, which are generally staffed by nurses and health coaches and run like a regular doctor's office, also raise concerns about privacy and the deeper intrusion of employers into workers' health and personal lives. While treatment is voluntary, clinic operators—most on-site facilities are operated by third parties—review employees' health screenings and surveys to target those who have, or are at risk for, chronic conditions. The clinic operators call and email employees, and sometimes lure workers with gift cards or discounts on premiums to get them into the clinic."

The clinics have been instrumental for some companies in saving large amounts of money. Hanesbrands Inc., which opened a clinic two years ago at its Winston-Salem, N.C., headquarters, said it saves $1.4 million annually on money it would have paid on claims -- having seen a 30 percent drop in emergency-room visits among insured workers, and a 39 percent drop in inpatient hospital admissions, Weber reports. (Read more)