As an HR leader, you’re all about planning ahead and anticipating the needs of your team members. Even if you've offered the benefit for years and communicated about it regularly, many employees still have these same questions. Addressing them proactively will help ease any nervousness about using a workplace clinic and get people in the door.
While services offered will vary, clearing up any confusion about what your onsite clinic provides will help employees know when to seek care.
Typical services fall into three categories:
| Preventive Care | Chronic Disease Care | Episodic/Sick Care |
| Annual Physicals | Hypertension | Allergies |
| Bloodwork | Diabetes | Infections |
| Vaccines | Asthma | Flu, Cold, and Fever |
| Personal Health Assessments (PHAs) | High Cholesterol | Minor Burns |
| Referrals to Specialists | Tobacco Cessation | Sprains or Minor Fractures |
Double-check with your onsite location about their specific offerings, as additional services are often available.
Onsite care is meant to provide affordable, convenient access to care that is often expensive and hard to find. Costs vary from clinic to clinic and depend on the individual's insurance plan. However, most visits are available at low or no cost to employees, with a small copay being the typical visit fee.
While the average wait time to be seen in a primary care office is 24 days, the vast majority of patients at workplace clinics can be seen within three days of requesting an appointment. Many workplace clinics are often able to accommodate same-day or next-day appointments. This is a key selling point to emphasize in your communications.
It depends on your clinic location, but many clinics offer onsite medication, dispensing, often at no cost. Basic pain medications, blood pressure medications, allergy medicines, antibiotics, antivirals, high cholesterol medications, and even diabetes medications are often available for convenient pickup or at-home delivery. Make sure employees know to check with their providers about dispensary availability.
This is a common question, and addressing it head-on is crucial to building trust and getting employees to use the clinic. Make it clear in your communications that onsite locations are operated by separate vendors and that HIPAA policies strictly forbid any sharing of health information. Information about employees' health conditions or visits with providers will never be shared with you as the employer.
Yes! This is one of the best benefits of an onsite clinic and a key one to highlight to your employees. Onsite clinics can absolutely function as an employee's primary care provider. All the same services, treatments, and providers available at a typical primary care office are available at your onsite clinic.
Yes! Lab work is available at onsite clinic locations. Remind your employees that annual physicals at the clinic are a great time to get annual lab work done and check in on their health. Complete Blood Count (CBC), lipid panels (for cholesterol), fasting glucose or A1C tests (to check for diabetes), and thyroid panels are some of the most common labs offered during an annual physical.
It depends. Make sure your employees know that most onsite locations can accommodate spouses and dependents ages 2 or older. Their children can even be seen for sports physicals or sick care.
Most onsite clinic vendors offer some kind of after-hours or virtual care support through telemedicine or virtual calls. This is a fantastic benefit to promote to your employees, as it can reach them at home, on vacation, or on the weekends. It also makes providing care to spouses or dependents easier.
This is an important question, as conversations about mental health benefits are on the rise and employees want discreet, accessible mental health care. Most onsite clinic locations offer assessments and support for depression, anxiety, stress, and more. Some locations even offer onsite counselors. Let your employees know that those seeking referrals to psychiatrists or counselors can get them at the clinic, and those who want medications can usually be prescribed there as well.
As you plan your wellness communication strategies, these questions will help you understand how your employees are thinking about their health and the onsite clinic. Come armed with information and help your organization maximize patient engagement at your onsite clinic.
References:
Marso, A. (2025, June 23). Appointment wait times in family medicine up 16% since 2009, according to survey. AAFP. https://www.aafp.org/pubs/fpm/blogs/inpractice/entry/wait-times-2025.html
Seed, S., & Hoffman, M. (n.d.). Annual physical exams: What to expect. WebMD. https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/annual-physical-examinations