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Feb 11, 2025

Introducing: Sonder GP Telehealth - faster and more affordable medical help in your pocket

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Access to timely medical care is becoming increasingly difficult for Australians across the board, with rising out-of-pocket costs and long wait times forcing many to delay or skip GP visits. This affects both individual health outcomes and organisations, driving increased absenteeism, poorer wellbeing outcomes, heightened workplace health and safety risks, and escalating long-term healthcare costs.

For employers and leaders in People & Culture, HR, and Workplace Health & Safety functions, keeping up with modern workforce demands across medical, mental health, and personal safety has never been more challenging.

At Sonder, we believe that medical care should be simple and accessible. That’s why we’re introducing Sonder GP Telehealth to make healthcare faster, more affordable, and simpler for your workforce, on their terms.


Breaking the GP access block

Data from the Australian Healthcare Index 2024 highlights a concerning rise in Australians postponing or skipping GP appointments due to a lack of accessibility:

  • 60% of patients have delayed a GP visit, 32% postponed diagnostic tests, and 28% have skipped medication purchases. These delays in seeking medical care can cause small issues to escalate into more serious healthcare concerns.
  • For regional or remote employees living outside major cities, the lack of access is even more pronounced. Regional respondents identified difficulty in booking appointments (47%) as the main reason for not seeing a GP.

For further insights into the GP access block issue, read our full report here.

By addressing these key blockers, Sonder helps your people prevent health concerns from escalating into serious issues—ensuring your organisation receives the right care at the right time and avoiding unnecessary trips to the emergency department.


Your employees should feel confident about getting early treatment before things get worse

The best way for organisations to keep their workforce healthy, safe and productive is to provide them with the right tools and support to take their health and treatment into their own hands. Your employees need a simple, accessible and effective process that encourages them to get help early, instead of waiting.

 

This means having a process that offers:

 

  • A go-to place to get help, that includes a range of treatment options, choice of healthcare provider, and the optionality of virtual or face-to-face appointments.
  • An evidence-based clinical triage process to match the appropriate treatment to the level of injury.
  • 24/7 access to professionals via chat or call. This is especially important for remote workers or employees that operate outside of regular business hours such as shift workers.
  • Centralised communication and reporting between healthcare providers, ensuring continuity of care for the member, and regular follow-ups.
  • Tools, resources, and content to keep members engaged and proactive about their health and safety before incidents occur, and throughout the recovery process.

 

Having an effective early intervention approach to workplace injury management creates positive outcomes for employee wellbeing health by empowering them to take action as soon as possible.


Sonder provides a single-point of-entry to the right treatment, at the right time

Sonder’s early intervention injury management program is designed to keep your workforce healthy by providing one go-to place for instant, 24/7 expert help on their terms.

 

Unlike typical injury management programs, Sonder adopts a holistic early intervention approach, which starts taking place much earlier before incidents occur. We do this by equipping members with real-time updates, content, and support via the easy to use Sonder app, so that they can stay proactively engaged before injuries take place, combined with instant and easy access to expert help when a workplace injury takes place.

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Sonder’s early intervention injury management program keeps your workforce healthy, safe and productive by providing:

  • A centralised single-point-of-entry to treatment

We empower your workforce to feel confident about knowing exactly where to go for help whenever and wherever they need it. By removing barriers to access, your employees are encouraged to adopt earlier help-seeking behaviour.

  • 24/7 clinician-led injury triage

Making sure your employees can get help outside of regular business hours is imperative.

Accessible 24/7, your employees can get immediate expert medical advice from our emergency qualified nurses to improve recovery outcomes and reduce lost time. Our nurses can conduct a clinical assessment within minutes and triage your employees to the appropriate treatment.

  • Priority treatment with nationwide coverage

Where appropriate, Sonder will facilitate priority bookings of medical appointments (GP and/or physiotherapy) using our vast nationwide professional healthcare network. 

  • Personalised employee service

Sonder prioritises your employee’s experience throughout the injury treatment journey by engaging directly using a mobile-first approach. Members remain informed, supported, and confident throughout their entire care journey.

  • Streamlined reporting and consolidated invoicing

Sonder keeps your managers informed by sharing incident notifications, clinical assessment outcomes, and ongoing updates throughout the treatment process. This increases transparency and visibility while helping your managers play an active role in supporting their team on the recovery journey. Treatment invoicing can also be consolidated to reduce your administrative burden.

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Prevent a three-week recovery from becoming a three-month absence

Sonder’s early intervention injury management program is now available to Australia-based customers as an additional expansion module to complement the Sonder Essential Care and Total Care plans. To learn more about how we help workplace health and safety leaders control workplace injury costs and build a more productive, healthier, and safe workforce, book a demo, or speak with your Sonder customer manager.

 

With Sonder, personalised support is provided 24/7, so employees can access advice whenever needed. With a comprehensive app that offers a holistic suite of tools, employers can manage psychosocial hazards in the workplace and empower employees to make their health, wellbeing, and safety a priority.

 

*Source: September 2023, McGregor Tan survey of employees in Australia and New Zealand who were working a minimum of 30 hours per week.


About Sonder

Sonder is a technology company that helps organisations improve the wellbeing of their people so they perform at their best. Our mobile app provides immediate, 24/7 support from a team of safety, medical, and mental health professionals – plus onsite help for time-sensitive scenarios. Accredited by the Australian Council on Healthcare Standards (ACHS), our platform gives leaders the insights they need to act on tomorrow’s wellbeing challenges today.

Frequently asked questions

Sonder’s early intervention injury management program provides members with a single-point-of-entry to get expert advice and treatment options for addressing physical workplace injuries, as early as possible.

Once purchased, your workforce can immediately access it 24/7, via the chat and call function within the Sonder app.

Sonder’s early intervention injury management program is currently only available to customers within Australia. It can be purchased alongside a new Sonder subscription plan, or as an add-on to an existing Sonder Essential Care or Total Care plan.

A core component of effective injury management is an evidence-based clinical triage process that maps the right treatment at the right time for workplace injuries. Here’s how it works:

Step 1: Reporting a workplace injury

When a member suffers a workplace injury, they can immediately report it to Sonder via in-app chat or by call through the Sonder mobile app. This service is available 24/7 for registered team members. Managers can also facilitate a team member to obtain support at any time.

Step 2: Clinical assessment and triage

Upon identification that the presentation is a workplace injury, the member will be transferred (via phone or chat) to one of our registered nurses for assessment.

The registered nurse will conduct a clinical triage of the member to determine the appropriate type of treatment for the presenting injury.

Based on the severity and nature of the case, the nurse will refer the member from one of the following treatment pathways, available through our nationwide health provider network:

  • Emergency Department (ED): If immediate medical attention is needed, the member is advised to go to the nearest hospital ED. Sonder can coordinate ambulance services if necessary
  • General Practitioner (GP): For less urgent injuries, Sonder arranges a GP appointment (in-person or telehealth)
  • Physiotherapy: If a GP isn’t needed, Sonder can refer the member to a physiotherapist
  • Imaging: If recommended by a GP or physio (e.g., X-rays, CT scans)
  • Self-care: In some cases, the nurse may recommend self-care measures and follow up to monitor symptoms

Before proceeding with any treatment, members must consent to having their information shared with their employer, treatment plans, and healthcare providers. If a member does not provide consent to the above, or elects to proceed with their own healthcare provider of choice, Sonder shares the summary with the employer and closes the case.

For the full scope of treatment outcomes, in-depth explanation of our clinical triage model, treatment outcomes, and reporting process, download the technical guide to Sonder’s early intervention injury management.

Our initial clinical assessment and triage process can address all types of physical workplace injuries.

Once an initial clinical assessment has been conducted by our nurses, members can elect to proceed with our recommended treatment pathways depending on the injury, which include GP appointments, imaging, physiotherapy, guided self-treatment, or emergency department visits.

Mental health related injuries are not covered by Sonder’s early intervention injury management. Sonder’s core offering and associated support pathways provides comprehensive support to members who have concerns or seeking support for mental health.

In order to access the injury management program, members must consent to their entire treatment plan, records and communication pertaining to this injury being communicated back to their respective manager and employer.

If the member does not consent to this information being shared, a regular triage, advice and referral to a public service can be provided, but any injury management providers pathways are excluded.

Sonder’s injury management program is not included in our Total Care plan, and must be purchased as an addition to any Sonder subscription plan. To learn more about pricing, speak with our sales team, or contact your Sonder customer manager.

Customers will only receive consolidated invoices for all treatment directly from Sonder. Sonder will collate the costs of all cases and provide to customers on an agreed-upon schedule (Monthly/Quarterly). In the event a team member does not attend a treatment session and Sonder incurs costs for this, this cost will be included in the final invoicing to the customer.

No, if an injury reaches a level of complexity or if your team member indicates that they are submitting a workers compensation claim, then Sonder will not continue to manage the case and refer the team member back to your internal team who manages injury claims.

Didn’t find an answer to your question? Contact us to learn more.

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