The relationship between a worksite wellness clinic and hospital emergency department visits.

Objective: To assess the relationship between the provision of episodic medical care at the worksite and nonadmission emergency department (ED) visits.

Methods: A historical cohort design was used to study the differences of nonadmission ED visits among insurance plan participants employed at two acute care hospitals, one with a worksite wellness clinic and one without over an 8-year period.

Results: A significant reduction in the risk of an insurance plan member visiting the ED in the time period after the clinic was opened among plan members with access to a worksite wellness clinic was observed. No significant reduction was noted in ED visits for insurance plan members without access to a worksite clinic.

Conclusions: A wellness clinic rendering episodic medical care is associated with significant reductions in ED visits and insured employees who use an ED.