We all need to be healthy to be happy and at our best. This goes for family members as well as employees. Moreover, a 2022 survey showed that 63% of employees were likely to stay in current role due to benefits package. Amongst the many healthcare services which can be provided to the ones we care about, Virtual Medicine is slowly but surely becoming a corner stone of easily accessible primary care.
With jobs and even schooling transitioning to virtual settings, it is only normal that doctors would be a part of this trend, allowing people to be assessed from home in the many cases where the hassle of unnecessary commuting is not required. Other benefits of virtual medicine are not to be neglected either.
Contributes to team spirit in companies
We all know that employees or corporate staff who feel valued and safe will be more diligent and dedicated. So, providing access to a family doctor via telemedicine goes a long way towards that feeling, with employees knowing that their employer cares about their health. In turn, this has a direct impact on the company’s own profits. In 2019, the prestigious Harvard University even documented a direct link between employee engagement and workplace safety. Hence, everyone comes out a winner.
Social Distancing
Although COVID-19 now seems to be in its final stages, the fact remains that many members of our society still cannot afford to expose themselves in large gatherings or prefer to avoid public places, either because of their state of health or their advanced age.
In this context, virtual medicine offers a safety net to this more vulnerable segment of the population and also contributes to reducing potentially infectious social exposures. In addition, telemedicine reduces in-person crowding in medical clinics and hospitals.
Mental healthcare easier to access
Mental health has become one of the most common reasons for consulting a doctor. Each and everyone of us has either consulted for mental health or knows someone that has. Mental health issues affect 6.7 millions Canadians, costing tens of billions in lost revenues every year.
Consequently, mental health consults represent a large portion of all absenteeism both at work and in schooling.
Virtual consultations for psychotherapy, simplifies access to mental health therapies to people who would not have access to it in any other way due to their schedule or their location.
Reduce absenteeism with telemedicine
We all know that physically going to the doctors office entails losing at least half a day if not our whole day. This applies both to students and workers in need of a medical appointment. Virtual medicine addresses specifically this problem, by making appointments much more available, schedules much more flexible, end medical appointments much less time consuming, since these virtual consultations will require no more than 30 minutes of a person’s day.
Encourage rural communities and remote workers
The Covid pandemic accelerated the adoption of remote working and also motivated many families to leave the cities and live in rural communities. Healthcare access for rural communities and remote workers can be difficult and even sometimes require hours of driving. Virtual medicine allows this group of the population to have a decent and reliable access to first line healthcare regardless of the paucity of local resources.
Create an environment of positive competitiveness and happy workers
Healthcare benefits like virtual medicine, greatly improve the quality of life of your workforce. By eliminating the need to commute all the way to a medical center, you are giving your workers time to invest in their work and in daily activities that actually matter to them. Hence, their schedule and yours will be more predictable. In return, employees will be less likely to miss work days or be depressed at work, and this will impact the bottom line of your company.
If you want to innovate in your workplace or simply help your family members save valuable time when they need a medical consultation, then talk to us. We’re here to help you make the right choices when it comes to easy access to primary care.
