Or will hospitals leverage healthcare staffing technologies in favor of the bottom line?

With third-party payor reimbursements dropping below sustainable levels and healthcare reform shrinking Medicare and Medicaid, hospitals will find profits harder to come by. For some, better managing staffing agencies and using data to drive staffing decisions will do the trick. For others, outsourcing workforce management functions or re-evaluating managed care contracts will be sufficient to reign-in cost centers and boost profits.

Staffing, a healthcare employer’s single largest expense, is probably where hospital cost reductions can affect profits most quickly. Patient census data and the benchmarking of hours worked per case allow for the flexible and accurate scheduling of part timers and travelers. This reduces staff down time, heightens productivity during peak times and is critical to not over or under staffing facilities, both of which adversely impact profits.

Tightening vendor policies and diligently tracking the performance of staffing agencies can also improve the look of a P&L. Narrowing vendor relationships to only top performers and holding agencies accountable to competitive bill rates and timely submission of documents will save staffing managers time, money and aggravation; savings that can be converted to profits simply by adopting a vendor management system that in most instances requires no capital investment on behalf of the hospital.

Additionally, leveraging various staffing technologies can put a feather in the cap of hospital profits. For example: configurable workforce management software enables the real time reporting of labor costs and staffing levels. This in turn empowers managers to address staffing needs on a shift-to-shift, day-to-day basis rather than by pay period or month.

Finally, hospitals need to look at rates of reimbursement and the volume of policy holders among managed care providers. Is the hospital receiving rates agreed upon in the contract and in a timely manner? Which contracts might be considered “high risk” and need reviewing more often than once or twice a year to ensure they haven’t become a liability to profits?

Candidate Direct can help hospitals preserve profits by providing staffing solutions aimed at staff efficiency. Our web-based platform requires no investment in hardware or software and is customizable to suit a hospital’s individual staffing needs. Client’s report increased fill rates, decreased staffing spend and reduced time to hire – benefits that lead to profitability and quality patient care. Realize $6,200 savings per FTE annually.

By holding healthcare staffing agencies accountable for high quality candidates at the best rates, the right vendor management system can help hospitals return to profitability through efficiency and cost containment. Managers save time sourcing, recruiting and hiring candidates and, at their fingertips, have analytics reporting capabilities in real time to accurately staff for fluctuations in census and patient needs on a shift-to-shift basis.