Did you know that US employers lose about 1.4 billion days due to employee sickness and health issues, each year? That adds up to more than $225 billion in lost productivity.

Now more than ever, it’s critical to ensure that employees are coming to work healthy. But how can you help keep your employees healthy while reducing absenteeism? The answer is Telehealth.

With 24×7 access to board-doctors and nurse practitioners, your employees can get the care they need anytime and anywhere. This means fewer sick days, healthier employees, and cost savings for you and your employees.

More People Are Using Telehealth

Telehealth services have gone mainstream. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported a 154% spike in telehealth in the early days of the pandemic. That meant millions of virtual doctor’s appointments and video conferences with healthcare professionals. Even post-COVID, industry watchers expect a 53% increase in usage over pre-pandemic levels.

Advances in technology solutions have made people more comfortable using video calls and sharing health information in virtual visits in a secure environment.

Telehealth Benefits for Employers

From healthier and more productive employees, to lower absenteeism and lower healthcare costs, employers embracing telehealth see significant benefits.

Cost Savings

Employees adopting telehealth are more likely to go online for virtual visits rather than head to emergency rooms and urgent care centers. This can dramatically reduce the nearly 400,000 visits to emergency rooms for routine healthcare or after-hours care — a significant cost for companies as part of their benefits plans.

Avoiding trips to the ER can result in savings ranging from $200 to $1,500 per visit compared to using telehealth. This helps reduce congestion in emergency rooms and reduces insurance costs for employers.

Besides reducing short-term costs, many employers are seeing long-term benefits. As healthcare is more accessible and affordable, employees tend to use it more. They’ll get the treatment they need and need fewer sick days to recover from illnesses. They’re also more likely to uncover problems before they become significant.

That leads to long-term cost savings as well. Roughly 70% of healthcare costs come from preventable or treatable conditions that can be avoided if caught early.

Improved Productivity

Employees using traditional office visits will often put it off until they’re really sick because of the time and hassle. Because telehealth can be accessed immediately and from anywhere, employees are more likely to get treated sooner which means a faster recovery.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, we’ve seen a significant increase in mental health concerns. When people are dealing with stress and anxiety, it negatively affects their work. Telehealth appointments for mental health in a safe environment from home can make a big difference.

Whether it’s telehealth or wellness programs, healthier employees are simply more productive.

Lower Absenteeism

Instead of having to take a day off work to visit the doctor, telehealth can accommodate work schedules. Many of the online telehealth services don’t require an appointment days in advance. Fill out the form, request a visit, and you might be connected in less than 15 minutes.

This makes it more convenient. When you can get seen quickly, there’s less time waiting or driving to and from appointments. It reduces the amount of time off needed to see the doctors. Many employees can work a full day and see a doctor during one of their break times. On average, patients save two hours per telehealth visit compared to a typical trip to the doctor’s office.

This is especially helpful in rural areas where employees may not have as much access to healthcare or in major cities where travel can become difficult. Telehealth lets you see quality medical professionals in less time.

Employee Recruiting and Retention

In almost every business, turnover is costly. Studies show that it can cost up to a third of a worker’s annual salary to hire a replacement and train them. The better your benefits package, the better quality of applicants you’ll get, and the more likely employees are to stick around.

When you combine the cost savings for offering telehealth to your employees with the potential of reducing turnover, it can be a powerful tool.

Improved Quality of Care

Any concerns over the quality of care received via telehealth are a thing of the past.

If you judge the quality of care by patient satisfaction, it’s more than passed the test. Studies show an exceptionally high level of patient satisfaction with telehealth in many cases even surpassing in-person visits. When participants in one study were asked whether they would recommend the service to others, 98% of users said yes.

ESE Telehealth

ESE Telehealth makes virtual healthcare simple, affordable, and accessible. Patients can fill out a form, get a call in less than 10 minutes, and see a certified healthcare professional within an hour or two for diagnosis, a treatment plan, and get prescriptions sent to a local pharmacy.

Contact ESE Telehealth today to learn more about the benefits of telehealth for your employees and business.