In an era of soaring medical costs, providing health care to employees at or near their workplace is gaining new momentum, according to an article in the Winter 2012 issue of MIT Sloan Management Review.

A 2011 study by the professional-services company Towers Watson and the nonprofit National Business Group on Health found that 23 percent of the midsized and large U.S. employers they surveyed had on-site health clinics and that another 12 percent planned to establish an on-site clinic in 2012.

Companies ranging in size from Fortune’s “Best Company to Work For” winner, SAS Institute, to privately held Rosen Hotels & Resorts report that on-site employee health care saves millions in health care spending while improving employee health and satisfaction.

Motivated by rising costs and commitment to their staff’s health and productivity, many companies are taking matters into their own hands, according to the article. In this so-called “do-it-yourself” health care, some firms operate clinics with their own employees, including doctors and nurses, while others contract with outside organizations for clinical management and staff.

 …