Healthcare vendors and consultants are looking for ways to get their employer clients better and faster access to medical support in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
As such, HealthJoy has created QuickLaunch, a limited version of the HealthJoy program that allows companies to give employees access to telemedicine and concierge support in just 48 hours. Typically, HealthJoy implementation takes 60 days.
“Everyone is trying to get telemedicine access to their employee-base in a faster way,” says Justin Holland, CEO of HealthJoy.
HealthJoy was able to cut out a lot of the ancillary elections employees make to their plans in order to streamline the process.In order to access the service, new employer clients have to provide an eligibility file with basic information that will enable HealthJoy to deploy its product at a faster rate. After the initial launch, HealthJoy will work with the company to release a full version of the product within its standard implementation period.
“There’s a lot of unknowns right now,” Holland says. “We’re trying to plan around as many of the unknowns as possible so that we’re prepared for the future.”
HealthJoy is also making telemedicine consultations free for every member, regardless of their health plan, an option companies have been encouraging to avoid in-person healthcare visits.
Companies have the option to include either HealthJoy EAP or behavioral health with the initial quick launch, which can improve their capacity to address employee mental health during this stressful period.
Even before this outbreak occurred, employees had been reporting high levels of stress and anxiety, according to the Society for Human Resource Management. As such, employers have begun to offer more benefits and solutions specifically targeted at increasing mental wellness.
Over the last five years, 58% of organizations reported offering general wellness programs in 2019. Thirteen percent of employers offer an onsite stress management program as of 2019, and 11% offer programs focused on meditation, mindfulness, and contemplative benefits. These programs are designed to help employees manage the mental and physical effects of stress and anxiety.
Making these programs more accessible is now a necessity, Holland says.
“This is going to be a realization to [employers] that telemedicine is not a ‘nice to have.’ It’s really an essential benefit.”
