Major employers want to launch on-site clinics, but they'll need to prioritize employee privacy first

The data: Almost 57% of employers say they’ll consider having an on-site clinic by 2024, marking a rise from the 44% of employers who said the same when the pandemic began, per a recent Business Group on Health’s survey of 136 large US employers.

What the data means for tech-enabled primary care players: This heightened interest presents a massive opportunity for entrants like One Medical and Crossover Health to woo more employer clients.

The opportunity: Virtual care services that supplement on-site services are a smart bet to reduce employer spending.

• Primary care entrants like Crossover Health and One Medical offer on-site clinics in combination with virtual care options.
• Crossover Health provides on-site services like in-house labs, prescriptions, and primary care services, in addition to telehealth visits. And primary care vendor One Medical boasts the option to provide employer clients with on-site care or 24/7 access to virtual care.
• 42% of individuals will access costly urgent care and emergency department services in the absence of telehealth, per Crossover Health.

Success so far: Crossover Health’s and One Medical’s strategies to blend on-site clinics with virtual care have paid off, as they’ve already partnered with massive employers.

• Earlier this year, Crossover Health launched 17 new clinics near Amazon’s distribution centers across different states—and its roster of clients also includes Apple, Facebook, and Linkedin.
• Similarly, One Medical has teamed up with Google and Lyft to offer tech-enabled primary care services.
• Given employers' increased interest in rolling out on-site clinics by 2024, we could see entrants like One Medical diversify their portfolios and partner with smaller employers, too: One Medical claims its primary care model can work with organizations of varying sizes, for instance.

What’s next? Although more employers plan to provide on-site clinics, data transparency and privacy will need to be top-priority—or employees likely won’t use the services.

The challenge: Many employees don’t feel comfortable giving their employers access to their health information, especially if it’s unclear who owns it.

• About 18% of US employees said they’re “not very comfortable” with their employer being able to view their personal health data, while 21% said they’re “not at all comfortable,” per an April 2021 Ipsos survey.

The bottom line: Employers will need to partner with primary care vendors that place a heavy emphasis on safeguarding patient data.

• For example, entrants like One Medical assure workers of patient data confidentiality from their employers, which could relieve employee anxieties about using on-site clinics.