Have you ever wondered how finance sets a department's budget each year? While most explanations we've heard sound quite complex, the truth is quite simple.
There are only 3 ways to set a productivity target: Run Rate, Benchmark, and Zero-Base
Leaders struggling with their target often ask this question and most are unable to get a straight answer - perhaps because the person they are asking isn't sure. This common complaint inspired us to share this newsletter and we hope it helps!
Read MoreWhile procedural departments are significant contributors to hospital revenue, ensuring staff are available to perform emergent cases 24/7/365 is a constant challenge. On-call programs are a common staffing solution for off-hours needs, but they can drive significant recruitment and retention challenges. Particularly in small departments, on-call and call-back requirements can be a key driver of the “fatigue factor” for staff.
Read MoreContract Labor is not a Dirty Word: Lessons learned in leveraging contract labor and travelers to ensure the right staff are in the right place at the right time to support excellent quality care to patients.
Read MoreAcross the country, hospitals have been forced to close their doors due to revenue headwinds and increasing costs due to the COVID 19 pandemic. All are working to closely manage costs to keep their doors open for the communities they serve.
Perhaps the most approachable and impactful strategy to reduce cost while improving care is demand matching – the process of reviewing staff schedules and patient workload volumes to align staff with volume by hour of day. Even if you’ve done this in the past, it’s important to reevaluate as patient volume patterns have shifted in hospitals across the country.
Demand Matching: a data-driven approach to ensuring your staff are in the right place at the right time.
Read MoreProductivity targets help hospitals balance resource requirements with financial goals by budgeting specific hours for the workload in each department. The process of setting productivity targets can present a challenge to both nursing and finance leaders as they work together to identify the ideal goal. By using zero based staffing models, industry leaders ensure that the right staff are in the right place at the right time.
Read MoreHospitals establish and manage to productivity targets to ensure that the right number of staff are available to care for patients. Balancing financial, clinical, and operational goals, thoughtful productivity targets ensure the department is not overstaffed or understaffed, supporting operations, quality care, and patient satisfaction with efficiency.
When hospital finance sets productivity budgets, it is very common for department leaders to ask questions like, “Why is this my target?”, “Where did this number come from?”, or “This can’t be right.” “Is this really how my peers are operating?”.
Read MoreTop performing hospital leaders are always searching for innovative ways to reduce the cost of healthcare without adversely impacting care and services provided. Labor spend constitutes over half of total hospital expenses and is widely considered the most controllable expense. Daily productivity management can help hospitals reduce expenses without having to furlough or lay off staff members. A successful strategy includes two primary components: increased performance visibility through daily reporting and managing improvement through department action plans to remedy missed targets.
Read MoreTop performing hospital leaders are always searching for innovative ways to reduce the cost of healthcare without adversely impacting care and services provided. Labor spend constitutes over half of total hospital expenses and is widely considered the most controllable expense, leading to employee furloughs and layoffs in the current environment. However, there are alternatives.
Read MoreRevenue degradation experienced due to the COVID-19 pandemic is impacting hospital finances across the country. Suspension of elective surgeries and procedures threatens the viability of many healthcare organizations. After decades of experience in the for-profit sector, our team has summarized some of the top impact expense management strategies. Continue reading for a high level view and check out our article for more details.
Read MoreStaffing grids are planning tools that assign the appropriate amount of staff to care for the number of patients on the unit. Effective staffing grids support care guidelines and productivity by integrating with budget, hiring plans, and scheduling systems. Annual approval by the CFO and CNO is important, as the types of patients cared for on the unit can vary over time.
Read MoreUsing data to drive decisions seems like an obvious choice when managing labor. However, selecting the most appropriate data to analyze is easier said than done, as healthcare systems continue to collect more and more information throughout the patient stay.
Read MoreMany healthcare executives are concerned that patient care will suffer when they are challenged to reduce labor costs. However, leaders often overlook opportunities to better align staff with patient workload.
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