Issue #7: Do You Manage Productivity Daily?

Top 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.

Issue #6: 10 Best Practices to Manage Hospital Capacity

Hospitals across the country are faced with daily bed management challenges. With ED admissions typically peaking between 3:00pm to 7:00pm, PACU admissions between 12:00pm to 4:00pm, and inpatient discharges between 6:00pm to 8:00pm, it is easy to see why capacity challenges exist. Now, more than ever, capacity management requires thoughtful consideration to maximize appropriate utilization of beds, staff, and services. CCC team member, Susie Law shares key tactics for maximizing hospital capacity in this article.

NewslettersCara CookJune 24, 2020Hospital Operations, Patient Throughput

Issue #5: Are Your Expenses Outpacing Your Revenue Due to COVID-19?

Revenue 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.

Issue #4: Are Your ER Patients Leaving Without Being Seen?

Extended wait times, driven by throughput challenges, cause patients to leave the Emergency Room without being seen. Efficiency requires coordination among many departments and team members. Each department plays a vital role in ER throughput, contributing to patient experience. From lab and imaging results, to patient registration, to EVS room turnaround time, there are many components which impact department efficiency. Routine reviews of department metrics are necessary to identify throughput pain points that impact both patient and staff satisfaction.

NewslettersCara CookMarch 10, 2020Hospital Operations, Emergency Room

Issue #3: How Effective Are Your Staffing Grids?

Staffing 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.

NewslettersCara CookDecember 10, 2019Labor Management, Productivity Performance, Staffing Grids

Issue #2: Are Your ER Staffing Decisions Data-driven?

Across the country, Emergency Departments are actively working to manage both revenue and cost by reducing patients who leave without being seen, managing labor spend, and improving core measure performance. Aligning staff with volume by hour of day is challenging, but necessary to address these critical issues.

NewslettersCara CookSeptember 16, 2019Hospital Operations, Emergency Room

Issue #1: Are You Ready For Next Season?

Many organizations struggle to staff to monthly workload fluctuations. Flexing up and down is hard work, but proven strategies exist to proactively plan for changing workload to optimize labor spend. In Healthcare Business Today, Cara discusses high level strategies for seasonal staffing.

NewslettersCara CookAugust 22, 2019Labor Management