Monitoring worksite clinic performance using a cost-benefit tool

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to explore the usefulness of continuously assessing the return on investment (ROI) of worksite medical clinics as a means of evaluating clinic performance. METHODS: Visit data from January 1, 2007, to December 31, 2008, were collected from all the on-site clinics operated for the Pepsi Bottling Group. An average system-wide ROI was calculated from the time of each clinic's opening and throughout the study period. A multivariate linear regression model was used to determine the association of average ROI with penetration/utilization rate and plant size. RESULTS: A total of 26 on-site clinics were actively running as of December 2008. The average ROI at the time of start up was 0.4, which increased to 1.2 at ∼4 months and 1.6 at the end of the first year of operation. Overall, it seems that the cost of operating a clinic becomes equal to the cost of similar care purchased in the community (ROI = 1) at ∼3 months after a clinic's opening and flattens out at the end of the first year. The magnitude of the ROI was closely related to the number of visits (a function of the penetration/utilization rate) and the size of the plant population served. CONCLUSION: Serial monitoring of ROIs is a useful metric in assessing on-site clinic performance and quantifying the effect of new initiatives aimed at increasing a clinic's cost effectiveness.