Case Study
How broad-spectrum virtual care — spanning medical, mental health, dermatology, and nutrition — delivered immediate and compounding ROI for an 800-person workforce
A Lehigh Valley manufacturer, founded in the 1800’s, has outlasted empires, survived economic cycles, and built a reputation that spans nearly two centuries of American industry. What has kept an organization like this relevant and resilient for so long isn’t just what it makes, it’s the people who make it.
When BSI partnered with this global brand in 2023, one of the first strategic additions to their benefits program was telemedicine. Not as a checkbox. Not as a low-cost afterthought. As a genuine workforce investment, designed to expand access to care across the full spectrum of employee health needs, reduce costs for both the plan and the individual, and meet an 800-person manufacturing workforce where they actually are.
The results in the first two years of the program tell a story worth understanding, both for what the numbers show and for what they reveal about how employees engage with benefits when barriers are removed.
Why Telemedicine Works — and Why Most Deployments Underdeliver
Telemedicine has become a standard feature of employer benefits packages. But standard doesn’t mean effective. Most telemedicine programs see narrow, inconsistent utilization, a handful of cold and flu visits, low awareness among employees, and ROI that never justifies the investment.
The reason is almost always execution. A telemedicine benefit that isn’t communicated well, designed comprehensively, or integrated into a broader benefits strategy will be ignored. Employees don’t use what they don’t understand or trust.
BSI approached this deployment differently. The program was built to serve employees across six distinct service categories: general medical, mental health, dermatology, nutrition, digital physical therapy, and expert medical services, giving the workforce meaningful access to care across the full spectrum of needs where virtual delivery is most effective and most valued. Digital physical therapy addresses one of the most common and costly conditions in a manufacturing environment, providing guided, clinician-led musculoskeletal care without the time and cost burden of in-person visits. Expert medical services give employees and their families access to specialist-level second opinions and complex case guidance, ensuring that when serious diagnoses occur, the right clinical expertise is never out of reach.
Communication and enrollment support ensured employees knew the benefit existed, understood what it covered, and felt confident using it across every category.
The utilization data from year one proved the approach worked.
Telemedicine Impact: Improving Access, Engagement, and Cost Management
The telemedicine program continues to deliver meaningful value by expanding access to convenient, on-demand healthcare while helping reduce overall healthcare costs. Employees are utilizing virtual care for a wide range of needs, including routine medical concerns, preventive care, and behavioral health support, allowing them to receive timely care without the barriers often associated with traditional office visits.
The program has been especially impactful in supporting overall employee wellbeing by providing accessible and private healthcare options that fit a variety of schedules and lifestyles. Increased utilization reflects a growing comfort with virtual care and highlights the importance of making both physical and mental health resources easier to access.
By encouraging earlier intervention, reducing unnecessary urgent care and emergency room visits, and improving access to care overall, telemedicine continues to support healthier employees, stronger engagement, and long-term cost containment.
The Deeper Value: What These Numbers Really Mean
The $125,543 in documented savings is the measurable ROI. But the full value of this program extends beyond what appears on a claims report.
Every general medical visit completed virtually is an urgent care or ER visit avoided, and an employee who got care the same day instead of waiting a week for a primary care appointment. Every mental health session completed through telemedicine is an employee who accessed support they might otherwise have gone without, and a signal to the workforce that their employer takes behavioral health seriously. Every dermatology consultation is a condition caught and treated early, rather than ignored until it worsens.
Telemedicine done well doesn’t just reduce costs. It changes the relationship between employees and their healthcare, making engagement easier, faster, and less financially burdensome. Over time, that shift produces a healthier, more engaged workforce whose long-term claims profile reflects the investment their employer made in removing barriers to care.
What This Means for Your Organization
Telemedicine is not a commodity. The difference between a program that generates $125,000 in documented savings within two years and one that sits unused in a benefits guide is strategy, communication, and a benefits partner who treats implementation as seriously as selection.
BSI helps organizations implement benefit programs that employees will genuinely use, programs designed to provide meaningful support across a broad range of healthcare and wellbeing needs while also delivering measurable value to employers. Rather than focusing on one-size-fits-all solutions, BSI prioritizes strategies that improve access, remove barriers to care, and create a better overall employee experience.
The results seen within this manufacturing environment are a direct reflection of that approach. Strong engagement across multiple areas of care demonstrates that when benefits are accessible, convenient, and aligned with the realities of today’s workforce, employees actively utilize them. In turn, employers benefit from healthier employees, improved productivity, stronger retention, and more effective long-term cost management.
Interested in what a well-designed telemedicine benefit could deliver for your workforce? Let’s build it right from the start.