Why TPAs Should Add Occupational Health Services

For many Third-Party Administrators (TPAs), drug and alcohol testing is the foundation of their business. But employers need much more than drug testing to keep their workforce healthy, compliant, and ready to work. That creates a major opportunity for TPAs.

By adding occupational health services, TPAs can expand their service offerings, generate additional revenue from existing clients, attract new employer groups, and become a more valuable long-term partner, all without having to build an occupational health network from scratch. With the right technology and partnerships in place, adding occupational health can be one of the smartest ways to grow a TPA.

Your Clients Already Need Occupational Health Services

Think about the employers you already serve.

Many of them are sending employees for drug tests, but those same employees may also need:

• DOT and non-DOT physical exams
• Fit-for-duty exams
• Return-to-work exams
• TB testing
• QuantiFERON testing
• Vaccinations
• Titers
• Respirator fit testing
• Pulmonary function testing
• Hearing testing
• Vision testing
• Lift and agility testing
• Other employment-related medical services

If your TPA isn't providing these services, there is a good chance your clients are obtaining them somewhere else. That means another company is serving a portion of your client's workforce screening needs, and receiving the revenue that comes with it. Why not make your organization the place employers call for both drug testing and occupational health?

1. Increase Revenue From Clients You Already Have

Acquiring a new customer takes time and money. You have to market to them, contact them, explain your services, earn their trust, and convince them to switch or choose your company. Your existing customers already know you. They already trust you to handle an important part of their workforce screening program.

Adding occupational health services gives you the opportunity to increase the value of those existing relationships. Instead of providing one service to an employer, you may be able to provide several.

For example, a client that currently sends you employees for pre-employment drug testing may also need a physical, TB screening, vaccination, or respirator fit test before that employee can begin working. One employee onboarding process can suddenly represent multiple services instead of just one. More services per employee can mean more revenue per client. And because you already have the employer relationship, you may not need to spend additional marketing dollars to find that business.

2. Become a One-Stop Shop for Employers

Employers value simplicity. They generally don't want to manage five different vendors if one trusted provider can coordinate everything.

Imagine an employer hiring a new employee who needs:

Drug Test + Physical + TB Test + Respirator Fit Test

Without a centralized solution, the employer may have to coordinate those services through several different vendors. That means more phone calls, more emails, more appointments, more invoices, and more systems to manage. A TPA that can coordinate both drug testing and occupational health becomes much more valuable.

Instead of saying:

"We can handle your drug testing."

You can say:

"We can help manage your workforce screening program."

That is a much stronger relationship.

3. Give Clients Fewer Reasons to Leave

The more services a client uses through your company, the deeper that relationship becomes. If you only provide drug testing, another TPA may be able to approach your customer and compete based on price. But if your organization helps manage drug testing, physicals, occupational health screenings, random testing programs, compliance services, and other workforce needs, changing providers becomes a much bigger decision.

Adding services isn't just about generating revenue. It's also about client retention. The more problems you solve for your employer groups, the more valuable your organization becomes.

Your goal should be to make clients think:

"Why would we go anywhere else?"

4. Compete for Larger Employer Accounts

Larger employers often have more complex needs. A transportation company may need DOT drug testing and DOT physicals. A healthcare employer may need drug testing, TB screening, titers, vaccinations, and physical exams. A manufacturing company may need drug testing, respirator fit testing, pulmonary function testing, hearing exams, and physical ability testing.

If your TPA only offers drug testing, you may be competing for just one piece of that employer's business. Offering occupational health services allows you to present a broader solution. That can make your organization more attractive when competing for larger accounts, staffing companies, background screening companies, healthcare organizations, transportation companies, and other employers with extensive workforce screening requirements.

5. Create New Opportunities With Background Screening Companies

Occupational health isn't only an opportunity for traditional TPAs. It can also be an important growth opportunity when working with Consumer Reporting Agencies (CRAs) and background screening companies. Many background screening companies want to provide their employer clients with more comprehensive screening packages.

A CRA may already provide:

• Background checks
• Criminal history searches
• Employment verification
• Motor vehicle records
• Drug testing

Occupational health allows them to expand that offering even further. A TPA that can support a CRA's drug testing and occupational health services becomes a more valuable partner.

US Gateway helps TPAs and CRAs manage occupational health alongside other workforce testing services within the same platform. US Gateway's occupational health solution includes direct integration with CRL and supports nationwide ordering, tracking, scheduling, documentation, and result management.

6. You Don't Need to Build a Nationwide Clinic Network Yourself

One reason some TPAs hesitate to add occupational health is the complexity.

They may wonder:

"Where are we going to send employees?"

"How do we know which clinics perform each service?"

"How are we going to track everything?"

"Do we need to negotiate agreements with clinics across the country?"

"How will our staff manage all these additional orders?"

Those are legitimate concerns if you're trying to create an occupational health program manually. Technology changes the equation.

US Gateway gives TPAs and CRAs access to occupational health services supported through national clinic networks and integrates ordering, scheduling, status updates, documentation, and results into the platform. That means a TPA can expand its service offerings without having to manually build every component from the ground up.

7. Keep Drug Testing and Occupational Health Together

Adding new services shouldn't require creating an entirely separate company within your company. Your employees shouldn't have to manage one system for drug testing and another completely unrelated process for occupational health. That defeats the purpose of becoming more efficient.

US Gateway allows occupational health services and drug and alcohol testing to be managed within the same overall platform. For your staff, that means fewer disconnected systems. For your customers, it means a more seamless experience. For your business, it means you can add revenue without necessarily adding the same amount of administrative workload.

8. Make Employee Onboarding Easier for Your Clients

Many occupational health services happen during the onboarding process. An employer may hire someone on Monday and need that employee medically cleared and ready to work as quickly as possible. Every delay can potentially delay the employee's start date. When your TPA can coordinate multiple pre-employment requirements, you can make that process easier for the employer.

Instead of telling a client:

"You'll need to find someone else for the physical."

You can help coordinate the entire process.

The easier you make hiring and onboarding for your customers, the more valuable your service becomes. You're no longer simply processing tests. You're helping employers get people to work.

9. Give Your Sales Team More to Talk About

Adding occupational health also gives your sales team new opportunities.

Instead of calling a prospect and asking:

"Who handles your drug testing?"

Your team can ask questions such as:

• Who handles your employee physicals?
• Do you require TB testing?
• Do employees need vaccinations or titers?
• Do you have positions requiring respirator clearance?
• Do you conduct hearing or vision testing?
• Are you using multiple vendors for these services?
• Would it help to manage these services through one provider?

Every additional service creates another reason to start a conversation. A company that is happy with its current drug testing provider may still have major problems managing occupational health. That can be your opening.

10. Differentiate Your TPA From Competitors

Drug testing has become increasingly competitive. If every TPA tells employers that they offer nationwide drug testing and great customer service, it can become difficult for a prospect to see the difference. Broader service capabilities can help you stand out.

Instead of competing only as a drug testing provider, you can position your organization as a workforce screening and occupational health partner. That opens the door to a much broader conversation with employers.

The question is no longer:

"Why should we use you for drug testing?"

It becomes:

"How much of our workforce screening program can you help us manage?"

That's a much bigger opportunity.

Occupational Health Can Help You Grow Without Adding Complexity

Adding services only makes sense if your organization can manage them efficiently. The last thing a growing TPA needs is another set of spreadsheets, manual processes, portals, and administrative headaches. That's why integration matters.

US Gateway's occupational health capabilities include services such as DOT and non-DOT physicals, TB testing, vision and hearing testing, respirator fit testing, pulmonary function testing, vaccinations, lift and agility testing, audiometric testing, bloodborne pathogen screening, titers, and more. The platform also supports centralized tracking, scheduling, documentation, and reporting.

The goal is simple:

Help TPAs offer more without creating more administrative work.

Stop Giving Revenue Away

Your employer clients already need occupational health services.

The question is:

Are they purchasing those services from you, or from someone else?

Every time you tell a customer, "We don't offer that," you're introducing them to another vendor. That vendor now has an opportunity to build a relationship with your client.

Instead, imagine being able to say:

"Yes, we can help you with that too."

That statement can create additional revenue, strengthen customer relationships, improve retention, and help differentiate your organization from competitors.

Expand Your Services With US Gateway

US Gateway helps TPAs and CRAs move beyond traditional drug testing and offer a broader range of workforce screening and occupational health services. By bringing drug testing, alcohol testing, occupational health ordering, scheduling, tracking, results, and other critical workflows together, US Gateway gives growing organizations the tools to expand without creating unnecessary administrative complexity.

More services. More revenue opportunities. More value for your clients.

Your customers already need occupational health. It's time to make sure they're getting it from you.

Ready to Add Occupational Health to Your TPA?

Schedule a demonstration of US Gateway and see how you can start offering occupational health services to your employer clients while keeping your operations centralized and efficient.