6 reasons why leading employers are offering virtual healthcare to their employees

Today more than ever, Canadian employees are enthused when their employer offers mobile virtual access to medical care, as the time saved is tremendous, and receiving high quality of care at the moment of need is invaluable. 

Dialogue is in a unique position as a virtual healthcare leader in Canada. Equipped with an expert team of healthcare professionals and secure backing from funders, we help employers seamlessly adopt virtual healthcare to optimize their workplace environment.

Here are 6 reasons why employers are adopting virtual healthcare for their workforce, and the top benefits virtual healthcare provides them.

1 - It can Cut Down on $2,000 of Losses Per Employee Annually

In addition to cutting down on thousands of dollars of losses per employee annually, offering virtual healthcare to your employees will also reduce the average 10 days of absenteeism.

a) Employee absenteeism costs employers $16.6 billion each year

An average of 9.3 sick days are taken per year in Canada, with the highest absenteeism rate found in Quebec at 10.8 days. Taking into account the average Canadian salary, an estimated 10 days of absenteeism can cost your company an average of $2,000 per employee annually (and could be much more if your workforce is highly paid).   

b) Reduce employee absenteeism and prevent future hospital visits

Less than 50% of Canadians are able to schedule a doctor's appointment for the same or next day, while 33% report having to wait 6 or more days to be seen by a family doctor. As a result many will seek unnecessary care in emergency departments, , which may take 4 and often more hours of wait time.

Delayed care has been documented to increase future hospital visits and increases related costs for employers. According to major health organizations:

75-80% of chronic illness can be eliminated with early prevention, such as timely primary care provided by Dialogue. 

c) Immediate access to mental health services

$51 billion is lost each year by the Canadian economy due to mental health related issues and approximately 25% of these costs incurred by employers are avoidable 

Scientific research shows virtual mental health care is clinically effective and reduces costs and waiting times

d) Reduce absence due to Family Care

Employers lose at least $2.7 billion dollars per year because of family related issues and employees with children under the age of 5 years take almost double the number of days off for personal/family responsibilities compared to those without children.

Almost 60% of children are sent home from child care services unnecessarily due to symptoms of illness. Parents seeking rapid medical consults for their child with Dialogue can avoid days lost waiting in clinics, thus reducing employee absenteeism due to family care.

2 - Virtual Healthcare Increases Workplace Productivity

For every 1,000 employees, it is estimated an employer can face $380,000 of productivity losses yearly, in addition to health care costs.

The productivity of teams with four to eight co-workers can drop by 22% when one team member is absent due to illness

Converging scientific evidence has found healthy employees are more productive than peers with health issues. Evidence also suggests that employees with depression are three times more likely to experience lost productivity.

3 - It Increases Access to Quality Healthcare for Employees Working Remotely or Travelling

The World Health Organization has identified telehealth as a beneficial tool to provide workers in remote and rural areas with timely access to medical care.

Employees using Dialogue will have access to secure and reliable healthcare when away from their desks, and their health history will be easily retrieved for more comprehensive care.  

4 - Virtual Healthcare Increases Employee Satisfaction and Retention

Research shows healthier employees have increased job satisfaction, which is continually cited in academic studies as a top factor for retaining employees.  

Research also shows 95% of users are satisfied with tele-consults, and Dialogue specifically has very high levels of employee and employer satisfaction.

5 - It Improves Work-Life Balance

Employees using Dialogue can have prescriptions sent to their preferred pharmacy or delivered to their home or workplace, allowing them to optimize their daily schedules.

The healthcare world still operates from 9-5, but Dialogue gives employees the possibility to access care in outside of work hours.

6 - It allows employers to Stay Competitive and Attract New Talent

Survey studies consistently find healthcare benefits to be the most attractive workplace factors, while one study found over 90% of millennials worldwide consider work/life balance as a crucial component in their workplace search.

It's your turn to offer Virtual Healthcare to your Employees

By 2018, it is projected that 81% of employers in the US will offer telehealth options. The successful large scale adoption of telehealth by hundreds of forward thinking American companies is now an opportunity innovative Canadian companies can benefit from by partnering with Dialogue. Virtual healthcare is an inevitability and is an emerging trend in health care. Companies that don’t plan for this soon will be behind innovative workplace leaders. Are you ready?