COVID-19 Has Forced Firms To Reevaluate How They Manage Occupational Health

COVID-19 Has Forced Firms To Reevaluate How They Manage Occupational Health

COVID-19 has caused a major reprioritization of how firms view and manage their worker health management strategies and investments. No one area has seen a growth of focus like that of worker occupational health solutions. In the latest Verdantix survey of 301 EHS decision-makers, occupational health saw the highest rate of increased investment over the next 12 months, with 40% of respondents planning on increasing investment over the next year.

Verdantix market size analysis for industrial hygiene and occupational health software completed during the initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic forecasted bullish growth driven initially by growing digitization of firms EHS processes which has only been accelerated due to the pandemic shining the spotlight on the critical importance of present, productive and healthy employees. In the past, onsite occupational health clinics were seen as cost centers and necessary evils to ensure compliance and reduce operational impacts. COVID-19 has engrained into the C-suite that occupational health is essential to managing worker exposure, driving productivity and ensuring business resiliency.

Occupational Health software has built a compelling business case as a key tool for meeting these new demands. Some vendors, like Enterprise Health, have built upon their comprehensive occupational health platforms to better suit the growing requirements of firms for managing worker exposure. For example, in the early days of the COVID-19 outbreak, Enterprise Health built upon existing pandemic response functionality, and re-configured existing capabilities including surveillance, encounter documentation, employee portals, reporting, tasking, immunization and case management modules to best suit this rising need. Additionally, Enterprise Health developed and launched telehealth and mobile capabilities, as the reality of COVID forced most firms to need an effective way to manage the health of remote employees at scale.

Additionally, firms are looking beyond traditional occupational health to a broader definition of health and wellbeing, with leaders are pursuing initiatives in clinical care, mental health and chronic disease management. Occupational and employee health concerns are expected to remain on the C-suite radar for the foreseeable future and executives must evaluate the tools available to help them manage these new requirements during the ongoing pandemic and beyond.