The Cost of the Health Care Workforce
Elizabeth Morton
MHA/543: Tackling the Talent War in the Health Sector
April 27, 2020
Dr. Melissa Green
The Cost of the Health Care Workforce
Cost of running a hospital depends on many factors from the use of electricity to the removal of the trash. It covers simple supplies to complex equipment and keeping up with all the technology that seems to be come obsolete almost as soon as it is received and installed. But the cost of healthcare is driven up by the cost of hiring and retaining staff. Aside from the building being maintained, staff rank high on the list of expenses for any hospital.
Three Key Drivers
As technology becomes more readily available, hospitals must continue to keep up with the times. The talent that they hire needs to be able to manage this new technology. “Added to those growing number of traditional hospital employees were new types of staff needed to fulfill missions hospitals took on in the past decade, including implementation of electronic health records (EHRs), and other IT initiatives, population health management, cross-provider care coordination, tracking of social determinants of health and development of innovation hubs (Daly, 2019).” Technology is a large expense due to the implementation and the staff that it takes to manage the information within the HIPPA guidelines.
It has been all over the news that there is a shortage of nurses in the healthcare industry. This presents a problem of having quality “seasoned” nurses on the floors in the hospitals. There is more money in specializing in certain areas of the hospital such as surgery, obstetrics, and critical care. There are radio and TV advertisements to entice both males and females to come to the nursing field.
The third key driver is the cost of the productivity of all the employees from top to bottom. “If we can’t figure out how to solve this problem using the productivity mindset the way other industries have, we’re never actually going to change the curve (LaPointe, 2018).” This point is difficult to manuver. Finding the solution will take time.
Evaluation of Industry Solutions
The solutions that are coming about are to find new ways or new technology to take on some of the aspects that were previously handled by a person. These are things like automated payment posting, allowing access to medial records electronically, and having the patient be more involved in their care. The issue is that someone still must input this information, check the automated work being done, and teaching the patient how to use the technology for themselves. Automation also tends to make a patient feel less connected.
Future Changes
The future changes are inevitable. One very important thing that hospitals can concentrate on is its employees. They need to improve the satisfaction of the employees and reduce their turnover. There are some strategies that can help. They include teamwork, communication, recognition, engagement, and continuing education opportunities. “Ongoing education and professional development can help healthcare professionals improve both their technical and people skills, both of which are essential for providing an exceptional patient experience, improving productivity, and increasing employee satisfaction (Vincent, 2018).”
Conclusion
Of the many ways to retain and maintain employees is to let them know that they are appreciated and that the hospital is not just a place to work.
References
Daly, R. (2019, October 1). Hospitals innovate to control labor costs. Retrieved from hfma: Hospitals innovate to control labor costs
LaPointe, J. (2018, May 1). Addressing Productivity, Labor to Bend the Healthcare Cost Curve. Retrieved from REVCYCLE INTELLIGENCE: Addressing Productivity, Labor to Bend the Healthcare Cost Curve
Vincent, J. G. (2018, April 3). 5 Effective Emplyee Retention Stratgeies in Healthcare. Retrieved from Eagle's Flight: 5 Effective Employee Retention Strategies in Healthcare
Elizabeth Morton
MHA/543: Tackling the Talent War in the Health Sector
April 27, 2020
Dr. Melissa Green
The Cost of the Health Care Workforce
Cost of running a hospital depends on many factors from the use of electricity to the removal of the trash. It covers simple supplies to complex equipment and keeping up with all the technology that seems to be come obsolete almost as soon as it is received and installed. But the cost of healthcare is driven up by the cost of hiring and retaining staff. Aside from the building being maintained, staff rank high on the list of expenses for any hospital.
Three Key Drivers
As technology becomes more readily available, hospitals must continue to keep up with the times. The talent that they hire needs to be able to manage this new technology. “Added to those growing number of traditional hospital employees were new types of staff needed to fulfill missions hospitals took on in the past decade, including implementation of electronic health records (EHRs), and other IT initiatives, population health management, cross-provider care coordination, tracking of social determinants of health and development of innovation hubs (Daly, 2019).” Technology is a large expense due to the implementation and the staff that it takes to manage the information within the HIPPA guidelines.
It has been all over the news that there is a shortage of nurses in the healthcare industry. This presents a problem of having quality “seasoned” nurses on the floors in the hospitals. There is more money in specializing in certain areas of the hospital such as surgery, obstetrics, and critical care. There are radio and TV advertisements to entice both males and females to come to the nursing field.
The third key driver is the cost of the productivity of all the employees from top to bottom. “If we can’t figure out how to solve this problem using the productivity mindset the way other industries have, we’re never actually going to change the curve (LaPointe, 2018).” This point is difficult to manuver. Finding the solution will take time.
Evaluation of Industry Solutions
The solutions that are coming about are to find new ways or new technology to take on some of the aspects that were previously handled by a person. These are things like automated payment posting, allowing access to medial records electronically, and having the patient be more involved in their care. The issue is that someone still must input this information, check the automated work being done, and teaching the patient how to use the technology for themselves. Automation also tends to make a patient feel less connected.
Future Changes
The future changes are inevitable. One very important thing that hospitals can concentrate on is its employees. They need to improve the satisfaction of the employees and reduce their turnover. There are some strategies that can help. They include teamwork, communication, recognition, engagement, and continuing education opportunities. “Ongoing education and professional development can help healthcare professionals improve both their technical and people skills, both of which are essential for providing an exceptional patient experience, improving productivity, and increasing employee satisfaction (Vincent, 2018).”
Conclusion
Of the many ways to retain and maintain employees is to let them know that they are appreciated and that the hospital is not just a place to work.
References
Daly, R. (2019, October 1). Hospitals innovate to control labor costs. Retrieved from hfma: Hospitals innovate to control labor costs
LaPointe, J. (2018, May 1). Addressing Productivity, Labor to Bend the Healthcare Cost Curve. Retrieved from REVCYCLE INTELLIGENCE: Addressing Productivity, Labor to Bend the Healthcare Cost Curve
Vincent, J. G. (2018, April 3). 5 Effective Emplyee Retention Stratgeies in Healthcare. Retrieved from Eagle's Flight: 5 Effective Employee Retention Strategies in Healthcare