About 4% of
U.S. families visited a workplace health clinic in 2010, the same percentage as
in 2007. This is according to a recent
research brief by the National Institute for Health Care Reform, reporting the
results of a national study by the Center for Studying Health System Change.
According
to the research brief, workplace health clinics are most common among large
private employers or government employers.
Certain industries also show higher usage rates for such clinics, such
as manufacturing.
Most visits
to workplace health clinics are for minor or routine care. In 2010, the most common primary reason for
a visit to such a clinic was vaccination (63.7%), followed by physical exams
for school, camps, or employment (31.1%), new illnesses or symptoms (26.5%),
and work-related injuries (11.3%). The most common reason for choosing workplace
health clinics was the convenience of the location (63.6%), followed by lower
cost (38.0%), more convenient hours (35.1%), and no need to make an appointment
(26.8%). (Respondents could select more than one answer to these questions, and
thus the totals are more than 100%).
