There are so many things in this world where more is better. Cake. Vacation time. Puppies. But there are also things where less is best: for example wait times to see a doctor when you are injured or ill.
Wait times in emergency rooms and urgent care centers can be daunting as it has become significantly harder to see a physician under non-emergent circumstances, driving more patients to the ER and UC as the most accessible choice.
As such, recent visits to emergency rooms reveal overcrowded spaces and excruciatingly long wait times for care. The average wait time in an ER clocks in at 145 minutes, surpassing the time it takes for a pet to see a vet or a car to undergo a mechanic’s check-up. Urgent care isn’t significantly better, with an average wait time of 25 minutes (and some now require appointments). When factoring in travel time and the potential need for an injured worker to be accompanied by a supervisor, the inefficiency of this process becomes evident.
Employers aim for swift assessments of employee injuries to gauge severity and determine if in-person care is necessary or if self-care suffices to get them back to work. On average, MedCall directs only 28% of workplace injury cases for in-person evaluations. 84% of non-fatal workplace injuries—like falls, cuts, muscle strains—can be promptly treated by telehealth, leading to better health outcomes for the injured employee and reduced lost time due to injury. Additionally, in-person care’s financial costs can range from hundreds to thousands of dollars.
Amidst the challenges and risks associated with injured workers, telehealth emerges as a simple solution, not insignificantly due to the swift access to care. According to MedCall’s internal data, the average wait time to speak with a physician is just 2 ½ minutes, reducing the wait time by over 98% compared to an ER visit and by 90% compared to urgent care. Quick access to care not only slashes financial costs for organizations but also assures the injured worker that their company’s telehealth benefit covers the visit’s expenses.
MedCall’s telehealth service not only curtails wait times and per-visit costs but also manages the hassle of filing worker’s comp claims. We also have an injury outreach service for lower priority injuries that removes the burden of completing reports from the worker and connects the injured worker with a physician on their time. Interested in offering your employees immediate care access and reducing your organization’s workers’ comp risk? Click here to schedule a brief demo and discover how.
