During the pandemic, many people became accustomed to seeing their doctors via telemedicine. In this setup, patients can directly speak to their doctors through online videoconferencing. Even if they can’t leave their home, they can still access medical advice.
Telemedicine can also be a big benefit for industrial work. It can help employees access medical care in remote locations or during off-hours when most clinics are not open. Further benefits are outlined below.
Expand On-Site Clinic Capabilities
Even in work locations large enough to merit an on-site medical clinic, access to telemedicine can still be helpful. On-site medical clinics are usually staffed with nurses or paramedics, instead of physicians.
If the on-site nurse or paramedic has telemedical access to a physician, they can expand their scope of treatment by accessing the expertise and treatment authority of their supervising physician. In this way, telemedicine can enhance an on-site clinic’s capabilities without paying for a full-time physician.
Give Employees Access to Medical Care Anywhere
Some work locations are too small or too remote to develop an on-site medical clinic. Instead, some companies directly connect their employees to physicians through a telemedicine service. The employee can call in, explain their issue, and the physician can give medical advice. This setup enables the employees to access medical care anywhere they are.
Treat Injuries Appropriately
Telemedicine can be a great alternative to an urgent care center or emergency room for many injuries and illnesses. In some work locations, the usual process is to send the injured or ill employee to the nearest emergency room.
In most emergency room settings, an employer is not usually invited to collaborate with the patient and physician in a comprehensive treatment plan. As a result, opportunities for safe, conservative management can often go unrecognized.
Access to an on-site telemedicine process that employs physicians well versed in injury management can help align great clinical outcomes with company goals related to recordability and lost time.
A clinical team that is knowledgeable about workplace injury management can safely and effectively reduce recordable injuries while maintaining excellent care and outstanding outcomes for the injured worker.
How RMI is Improving Telemedicine Services for Our Clients
Although RMI has provided health and safety staffing services for many years, we’re in the process of incorporating some new features. For example, our telemedicine services were previously focused on clinic medical providers talking to physicians. Our expanded service will enable employees to talk to physicians directly.
With our expanded physician network and telemedicine reporting functions, RMI has continued to improve our capability to protect the health and safety of your employees.
