Keep Valued Occ Med Clients by Helping Them Measure the Value of Your Services

You’ve done the hard part—selling your occupational medicine services and delivering on your promise of providing excellent care—but now you have to ensure the client recognizes the value you bring to the table. After all, return-on-investment is only as good as the data demonstrating it. What about return-on-value (ROV), though? As noted in a recent article in Milwaukee Business News’s Biz Times, the subtle difference may point decision-makers in slightly different directions. You should seize the opportunity to guide them. ROI is probably the more familiar term. In the context of evaluating an occ med program, it will reflect overall healthcare cost savings realized by lower absenteeism and days employees are out sick or injured; it’s “strictly a financial measure, reported in dollars” as the article points out. VOI, on the other hand, considers “the overall value received from a wellness program, taking into account recruitment, retention, employee morale, decreased use of sick days, and increased productivity.” As such, it’s a heavier lift when it comes to mining data—but it can produce richer results. For current clients, be prepared to support their ongoing decision-making by reviewing and reporting on the contract’s goals on a regularly scheduled basis. If you’re pitching new clients, specify benchmarks you can knock out of the park.