The Benefits and Complexities of Occupational Telemedicine

Occupational telemedicine was already an emerging field demonstrating comparative effectiveness to in-person services prior to 2020, but thrusting it into full action in an emergency was not the ideal implementation strategy.

Now, it’s time to look at how technology can continue to evolve to better serve patients, doctors, clinics, and employers. Assessing the benefits and challenges of occupational telemedicine going forward will help employers and clinics decide if it is a responsible and cost-effective way of delivering care to those who experience health problems on the job.

What Is Occupational Telemedicine?

Telehealth can refer to many services that involve delivering healthcare from a distance. This includes voice calls, video calls, texts, and email communications about healthcare services. These visits can be done with a doctor, nurse, therapist, mental health professional, or specialist and can range from initial consultations about an illness or injury to referrals for testing to care from a specialist.

The main requirement for telehealth is a secure way of communicating via a patient portal. For example, occupational medicine software must provide a HIPAA-compliant connection to protect patient privacy, for both the content of the conversation between doctor and patient or the sharing of electronic medical records. 

Occupational health services that are typically provided via telehealth include:

• Initial assessment
• Triage and guidance for workplace injuries
• Creation of treatment plans
• Monitoring progress
• Consultation for guidance on health and safety issues in the workplace
• Development of return-to-work plans or approval of work restrictions
• Post-operative or follow-up care
• Ordering of additional testing, blood work, imaging, or medical equipment
• Making referrals to specialists
• Behavioral healthcare
• Health and safety training

State and federal laws and guidelines dictate the services healthcare workers can provide via electronic communication. Guidelines vary between states, so practitioners, patients, and workplaces need to be aware of the laws that affect their access to telehealth services. Providers generally need to be licensed in the state where the patient is located in order to provide virtual health services. There are some exceptions if the patient is insured by Medicare or if the provider obtains a specific telehealth license. Some states also place restrictions on what types of medication can be prescribed via telemedicine, specifically controlled substances.

What Is the Difference between Telemedicine and Telehealth?

Telehealth is the overarching name for all health services provided remotely. One part of telehealth is telemedicine, which is a healthcare provider, usually a doctor, delivering services such as consultation, diagnosis, and treatment electronically. Virtual visits are considered telemedicine services.

Telehealth can also include health education, remote monitoring, answering questions, and administrative tasks. Telehealth can be delivered by doctors, but also includes services from social workers, nurses, and pharmacists. Sometimes caregivers can be the subject of telehealth so they can better support their loved one. In an occupational health setting, this can include consultations, trainings, developing return to work plans, assessing the safety of the workplace, and more.

Another term that is frequently used for digital health services is telecare. This is the technology that enables better healthcare services or promotes safety and well-being. It can include smart watches, monitoring devices, digital medication reminders, and fall detection devices.

Any or all of these virtual services can be part of your occupational telemedicine services. Particularly for smaller companies who may not have a fulltime occupational health care provider onsite, telemedicine can provide employees with access to additional services that support their health and make the workplace a better, safer place.

How Telehealth Services Can Manage Care and Reduce Costs

The Bureau of Labor Statistics found that private employers reported 2.6 million non-fatal illness and injury cases in 2023.According to the Liberty Mutual Insurance 2024 Workplace Safety Index, employers in the US collectively pay more than $1 billion each week on workplace injuries.

While the adoption of telemedicine was buoyed by office closures during the pandemic, it has continued to be a reliable and frequently used source of medical consultation. In the United States and across the world, telemedicine has increased access to quality healthcare to vulnerable populations and increase the amount of time practitioners spend with patients.

In another study, out of 1,672 recommended telehealth consultations, only three patients refused this delivery method indicating that both patients and healthcare providers continue to see telehealth as a viable, reliable, and effective method for accessing care. In 2024, telehealth was valued at $42.54 billion and only continuing to grow and expand. It is expected to reach a value of $180 billion by 2030. Occupational health has adopted this trend as well. Currently, 76% of large companies offer some form of virtual health services to meet the needs of their employees.

Telehealth generates more revenue for the health care provider, saves money for the patient, and reduces the amount of sick time employees need to take away from work. Telemedicine gives employees access to a broader range of specialists from the comfort of their homes or offices without incurring additional travel expenses. The average telehealth visit costs $40-$90 while the average in office visit costs $150-$600. Over the course of an injury or illness, this can create significant savings for both your employee and their healthcare provider.

Insurance Policies Regarding Occupational Telemedicine

The vast majority of health insurance plans, including Medicare and Medicaid, cover telehealth services. What specific services are available vary based on the policy. Forty-one states plus the District of Columbia require that private insurance companies cover telehealth services, and 22 states require that providers are paid the same for virtual care as they are for in-person care.

Some insurance providers go as far as also covering monitoring devices, medication management, and specialist consultations. However, it is recommended that patients confirm with their employer, insurance company, or provider about what services are available virtually.

The Benefits of Virtual Occupational Medicine

There are many reasons it makes sense for patients to prefer telehealth services to in-person appointments. Some of these include:

• The ability to see a healthcare provider outside of regular hours, which is especially important for those working second and third shifts.
• The convenience of immediate access to care in rural areas located far away from medical facilities.
• The ability to get an accurate and timely medical consultation without having to spend part of the day at a clinic.
• The ease of following up visits without taking additional time away from work.
• 24/7 access to doctors that eliminate the need for voicemail messages and waiting.

Employers and occupational healthcare clinics see benefits to telemedicine as well, including:

• Avoiding sending people with minor injuries to urgent care facilities.
• More conservative treatments that can be managed from afar, which can prevent unnecessary tests and reduce visit costs.
• An overall decrease in unnecessary hospital visits freeing up time for practitioners to deal with real emergencies.
• A reduction in costs per visit of anywhere between $19 and $121.

Although Baby Boomers are transitioning out of the workplace, they continue to stay in the workforce longer than any generation in the past. They are also more likely to experience injuries from falls, though younger workers are more likely overall to be injured on the job. The 2024 Travelers Injury Impact Report found that 35% of injuries occur in an employee’s first year on the job. This may be related to inexperience or a lack of knowledge about the systems to keep them safe on the job. As younger generations enter the workforce, they will expect to be able to access care on mobile devices instantly instead of scheduling and waiting for in-person appointments.

The Challenges of Occupational Medicine Telehealth

Some apparent challenges stand in the way of adopting telehealth more broadly, including:

• Inability to diagnose and treat many illnesses and injuries in a digital environment.
• Additional tech support and clinician training required to offer these services outside of an emergency.
• Need for any life-threatening injuries to receive immediate, in-person care.
• Inability of liability insurance policies to keep up with new technologies.
• Complexity of occupational medical software that needs to provide video, chat, and privacy for users while also being maximally convenient.
• Need to work out policies with payment entities and policymakers in each state and defining the requirements for providers to deliver care virtually.
• Need to collect more data to identify best practices for virtual visits.
• The ability of employers to provide secure locations and connections for telehealth to be delivered consistently.

Best Practices for Quality Occupational Telehealth Services

If you are considering adding telehealth options to your occupational health program, you’ll need to evaluate the options available in your state, the legal requirements, and what is most effective for the way your employees work and receive care. Consider these best practices to determine the best providers and platforms for occupational telehealth at your workplace:

• Privacy Policies. All HIPAA and informed consent policies that apply to in-person care also apply to telehealth. Make sure you understand licensing requirements for your state or region and clearly communicate to employees that this service continues to meet these requirements.
• Technology. Every employee eligible to seek telehealth services will need equitable access to the technological platforms these services are provided on. Be sure that it is easy for your employees to log on to the system, navigate, communicate with providers, and feel secure while doing so. This will include both audio and video communication.
• Business Associate Agreements. If you use a third-party technology provider, they will need to establish an agreement that the platform is safe and compliant.
• Translation. While telehealth can give you access to providers fluent in multiple languages, you’ll want to be sure it’s easy to request and receive support in any language your employees are comfortable speaking.
• Types of services. Ensure that the telehealth provider you choose offers access to the types of services your employees are likely to need. If you expect to need injury consultations or rehabilitation therapy, check to see if that is provided virtually.

Assessing the Use of Occupational Telemedicine Software

The main thing holding employees back from telehealth is unfamiliarity with the platform, which education can easily remedy. But for employers and clinics, the cost-benefit analysis needs to work out in their favor, especially since telehealth can require new technology and staff.

While research has found that most visits were resolved in a single consultation, baseline costs were lower, and fewer unnecessary tests were run, it will also be crucial to consult your chosen software to see the accurate data on what injuries are most common, which are potentially treatable through telemedicine, and how much facilities can save financially over time while still getting employees the care they need.