A benefits plan that's in line with the times shows potential hires that your business puts employees first and utilizes technology to find efficient solutions.

Advancements in technology have made it easier for business to provide workers with better health care at a lower cost, and if your benefits plan hasn't caught up with the times, you could be losing money, hiring power and productivity.

One of the most popular ways businesses have been implementing technology into their benefits plans is by including telehealth options. These services allow patients to have consultations with physicians via phone or video chat, eliminating the need to travel to a physical doctor's office. Implementing telehealth services into your plan benefits can not only give your employees a more convenient health care option, but also provide a boost for your business.

Efficient health care at a lower cost

Using technology in your benefits plan follows the Next-Gen model of offering your employees equal or better quality health care for less. A study by RedQuill Consulting found that using telehealth services instead of in-person consultations could offer savings of up to $126 per visit. And the savings don't come at the expense of quality, either – the same study found that about 83 percent of patients' health problems were resolved in their first telehealth "visit," with no follow-up needed. Telehealth services can't solve every medical issue, but they can provide a less expensive option for employees with minor health problems.

A magnet for millennials

The Pew Research Center found that as of 2017, millennials are the largest generation in the work force, and if you want to attract them to your business, you'll need to provide a health care plan that fits with the technologically advanced, on-the-go lifestyle they're accustomed to. In 2015, a Salesforce study found that about 60 percent of millennials supported the use of telehealth, and that number has only continued to grow.

A study from Qualtrics found that 73 percent of millennials believe technology makes their work-life balance easier, and you can easily apply that principle to your benefits plan – by using telehealth services, an employee doesn't have to worry about finishing a project on time due to taking time off to go to the doctor for a prescription. Instead, the service they need is at their fingertips, providing them with the same convenience they experience when ordering clothes or food online. A benefits plan that's in line with the times shows potential hires that your business puts employees first and utilizes technology to find efficient solutions.

Keeping employees in the office

Employees are spending a lot of time visiting the doctor. A 2015 study by the American Journal of Managed Care found that the average visit to a physician takes 121 minutes, which includes time spent traveling to and from the facility, doing paperwork, and just waiting to be seen. In fact, only twenty minutes of that time is spent in the presence of a physician, and chances are that everything covered in that visit could be taken care of remotely.