Achieving operational efficiency in healthcare means delivering the highest quality care while allocating resources strategically. To do that, however, most organizations will need to scale some structural, financial and technological hurdles, such as lack of visibility into spending and ineffectual processes. By focusing on the key areas of cost management, process standardization, technology and workforce optimization, organizations can move toward operational efficiency at a pace that works for them.
1. Manage your costs
Managing costs doesn’t necessarily mean spending less, but it does mean allocating resources intentionally. In 2019, JAMA’s meta-analysis of 54 peer-reviewed publications found that 25% of healthcare spending can be categorized as “waste,” with administrative complexity alone costing $265.6 billion. Of healthcare spending waste, a quarter was considered to have been recoverable in the following areas: failure of care delivery, failure of care coordination, overtreatment or low-value care, pricing failure, fraud and abuse and administrative complexity.
Managing costs can be difficult for organizations that rely on analog tools like pen-and-paper scheduling, use disjointed communication systems or have too many vendors.
Start your cost-management strategy with an audit of the processes, systems and technology you use in the course of delivering care. What do you use for scheduling? Recruitment and hiring? Quality care and compliance? Payroll and HR? Identify tools that can integrate with your current systems, and consider replacing outmoded processes with technology that provides full visibility into your organization’s resources and expenses.
2. Standardize your processes
Standardizing your processes enables you to codify the most efficient, accurate path to task completion and predefine guidelines for predictable, consistent outcomes. Process standardization can also help you center compliance and patient care while avoiding errors, which can carry significant consequences. It also provides those new to your organization with a roadmap to success.
Work with your team to find out whether their current processes are leading to ideal results. For example, if you’re looking at scheduling, two key indicators of success might be the ability to accept new admissions on demand and an optimal nurse-to-patient ratio. If you’re achieving your goals, you may consider enshrining your current process. If you’re not, identify bottlenecks, communication gaps, and other roadblocks so you can evolve it. Once standardized, document each process and plan to review it regularly.
3. Invest in technology
Discussions about technology abound in healthcare right now, and from generative AI to advances in VR to 3D-printed organs, technology is poised to revolutionize the industry. Technology that can help leaders make data-driven, integrated decisions and adapt to future changes is critical to achieving operational efficiency.
Invest in technology solutions that are flexible and predictive, so they don’t just meet your needs today, but can adapt as your needs change to help deliver consistent, quality care. Use technology to simplify key processes and streamline workflows so that your team can minimize the time spent managing administrative tasks, and your organization can save money on administrative costs. In addition to streamlining workflows and processes, technology can also help you take a proactive approach to workforce management across your organization and contribute to operational optimization.
4. Optimize your workforce
Today’s healthcare workforce is dynamic, a mixture of employees and external workers who choose to work on their own terms. To optimize your workforce, you must first understand how each cohort contributes to delivering care in your organization.
Employees likely make up the backbone of your workforce, but some may be overscheduled, while others may be underutilized. This can end up costing your organization, both in employee turnover and unnecessary overtime.
External independent workers aren’t replacements for employees or just for emergency coverage; they’re a support system that can provide relief. Rely on them to meet increased demand and support census growth when your employees aren’t able to work. Engage them to provide the flexibility 97% of healthcare workers say they desire and help protect your team from burnout.
To use employees and external workers optimally, however, organizations need 100% visibility into when, where and how employees and independent workers are delivering care. To get that visibility, consider technology like SAMI, which unifies workforce management and scheduling processes by connecting ShiftKey’s trusted marketplace of highly experienced independent healthcare professionals with OnShift’s industry-leading scheduling software. Facilities that use SAMI reduce agency usage by 45% on average and increase employee shift requests by up to 71%.*
Operational efficiency is a process
When you begin to move your organization toward operational efficiency, processes, tools, technology and cultural norms will need to change. That in and of itself is a process. Don’t expect to achieve operational efficiency overnight, but rather, think of it as a long-term goal that you can tackle strategically, bit by bit. If you need support, our technology can help.
*These improvements are based on SAMI customer results. Your results may vary.
