The availability of e-health services, such as online GP consultations, would influence the decision of almost 65% of Irish employees when choosing a company to work for, according to a survey from telehealth service provider VideoDoc.
The findings show the increasing importance of benefits to Irish employees, in particular concerning their healthcare needs. With more than 1,000 employees surveyed, almost 45% said they do not receive any healthcare benefits at all from their employer. Of those who do, as many as 43% state this is insufficient to cover the cost of their private health insurance. While many employers may feel they cannot afford to provide their employees with a private health plan, the survey suggested they should look to a telehealth model of providing on-demand Irish GPs to their staff as a benefit, with almost 65% of employees surveyed reporting that this perk would influence their decision to work for one company over another.
“It is not surprising to see employees place such a level of importance on healthcare benefits and in particular on online GP consultations,” said VideoDoc CEO Mary O’Brien.
“As providers of online GP care, which allows you to see your own doctor online or one of our Irish-based VideoDoc doctors, we have witnessed the increasing trend of Irish people moving to eHealth methods of care. This may be as a result of waiting times in our hospitals and GP surgeries or simply as a result of people’s increasingly demanding schedules which do not permit them to take two hours out of their day to visit a GP.
“Telehealth is a very cost effective and timely method of receiving basic GP care such as triage or prescription renewals. In fact, many VideoDoc corporate subscriptions across the UK and Ireland have reported benefits to their overall company as a result. As well as improving employee engagement and retention rates, they are seeing a real reduction in absenteeism, as staff are not forced to take prolonged leave to secure an appointment with their local GP.”
Providing telemedicine benefits to staff is not a unique concept to Ireland – a 2016 Mercer National Survey for Employees in the US found that almost 60% of large employers provide medical coverage for telemedicine, as healthcare becomes the latest vital service to shift online for employers seeking reliable, affordable and instantaneous support for their staff.
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