Is telemedicine just a box that you check as you go over your client’s medical plans? Do you even know the benefit your clients’ telemedicine plan is providing, and, more importantly, do your clients know it’s value? Measuring the benefit of telemedicine can seem difficult, but it really all comes down to one number: the utilization rate.  

Utilization rate is an indicator of dollars saved and employee satisfaction. It’s an easy to understand, easy to communicate, easy to remember number. In short, it’s the magic number of telemedicine.

Why the utilization rate?

Utilization rate is the most important number to be showing your clients when it comes to telemedicine. Your clients don’t want to provide - and pay for - a service that no one uses. But showing a high utilization rate proves the service’s value. It proves that the employees have access to a meaningful benefit, and it proves that you, the consultant, have helped implement an effective telemedicine program. Unfortunately, many HR departments and consultants don’t know their utilization rate or even mention it in presentations. It’s too often ignored or glossed over. And truthfully, it may be the case that it’s not talked about because it’s not good.

But utilization rate is a key indicator for cost savings and employee engagement. With all the complexities and expenses involved in health care, we can sometimes forget that a company’s health plan is supposed to promote engaged, healthy, and cared-for employees. It’s a retention and attraction tool for talent. 

A high-performing and highly-utilized telemedicine program can help create a distinctive health benefit for the company, leading to more engaged employees.

TelaCare has the Industry Leading Utilization Rate

So what should you do if your utilization rate isn’t good? It may be your telemedicine provider. Here at TelaCare, we have the leading industry utilization rate – over 40% on average. Our closest competitor averages about 7%. In distant third, at around 1% utilization, is telemedicine that is part of major medical plans. 

As a reference point, companies usually need a 30% utilization rate to show positive ROI on the program. So not only do these other telemedicine plans not provide any meaningful benefit to the employees, since it’s not being used, they’re also costing the employer money.

With a high utilization rate, the savings can be huge. Every doctor’s visit avoided saves employer money and employee time, which can end up having a big impact on the company’s bottom line and medical costs.

TelaCare delivers a 27% average ROI. That’s not insignificant. Wouldn’t it be nice to show those numbers to your clients at their next medical plan review?

With TelaCare, everyone wins

Your job as a consultant is to help your clients deliver the best medical benefits to their employees at the lowest cost. A highly-utilized telemedicine program can help achieve those goals. So make their telemedicine benefit meaningful – choose TelaCare.