Corporate flu shots are one of the best ways to protect your office from a flu epidemic. Even though we are still a ways out from flu season, it’s important to start thinking about your corporate flu shots early. The vaccine market is shifting, so planning early helps you be sure you’ll get the exact number and type of flu shots you want.
As you start to dive in to planning your flu clinic, keep these common questions in mind.
Q: The ACA covers flu shots under preventative care. Can we bill insurance for our flu clinic?
A: The ACA does cover flu shots, but covered doesn’t mean free. Even if you bill insurance, your company is still paying for the shots—just out of a different part of the budget. Because of the extra steps involved with billing insurance, it can also be more expensive. These reasons, along with the complexity of working with a variety of insurance carriers, have led TotalWellness to avoid insurance billing for flu shot clinics.
Q: How does TotalWellness staff onsite flu shot clinics?
A: We have a network of over 6,000 health professionals contracted to work with us nationwide. We provide qualified nurses to work your onsite flu shot clinic - only RNs, LPNs, and LVNs administer vaccine at TotalWellness.
Q: Is there a minimum number of shots we need to order?
A: For an onsite flu clinic, we require companies to order at least 40 shots per event. We do have a voucher program, though. So hopefully we can work out a way to get your entire workforce vaccinated.
Q: What's required for setup?
A: On your end, not much. We’ll need you to reserve a space in your office with chairs, tables and trashcans. Our nurses will bring all of the vaccine and medical supplies. They’ll leave the space just as they found it making your job as easy as possible.
Q: How do we communicate about the flu clinic to our employees?
A: There are a lot of ways to communicate about the clinic depending on how your company functions. A few tips to keep in mind:
- Educate your employees on the importance of the flu shot
- Be sure employees know it’s not only their wellbeing they’re protecting by getting a flu shot
- Communicate often and early about the clinic
- Use methods to which your employees respond well
- Utilize the free resources offered by us and organizations like the CDC
Q: How many flu shots should we order?
A: If you’ve done a flu clinic before, check out your past participation. If this is a new initiative, we recommend starting with about 30% of your employee population. You can increase your order as you get closer to the event, so it's best to start lower. Try to listen to the office chatter as the event gets closer to get a feel for who will take part.
Q: Can pregnant women be vaccinated?
A: Of course! Pregnant women are a population that definitely should get a flu shot. They are also a population that regularly sees a doctor, though. So their doctor will likely give them the vaccination. Sticking with this route is a bit easier because some states have stricter laws in regards to the types of vaccine pregnant women can get. TotalWellness will adminster to pregant woman if a client orders presertvative-free vaccine.
Q: How long will the flu clinic last?
A: Our nurses are scheduled to do 25 shots per nurse per hour. We’ll use this rate and the number of shots you order to estimate a time frame. If for some reason you need extra nurse hours that will drop them significantly below that rate, you’ll need to speak with your account executive about purchasing those extra staffing hours.
Q: Does the CDC recommend quadrivalent or trivalent vaccinations?
A: The CDC doesn’t have a formal recommendation of either. They do point out, however, that quadrivalent obviously offers a more complete protection because it consists of four flu strains rather than three.
Q: What type of lead time do we need to set up a flu shot clinic?
A: We require four weeks notice to scheduled your clinic. Try not to plan your clinic as you start to see flu strains circulate. That’s usually stressful for us, for you and for your employees.
As flu season approaches, we hope this helps clear up any uncertainties about planning your corporate flu clinic. These common questions should help ease your mind so you can plan your flu clinic smoothly.
What other questions do you have about scheduling a flu shot clinic?
