Healthcare facilities often face significant financial pressures that are unique to their industry. Between costly medical equipment, highly-skilled nurses, doctors and other staff, and a myriad of other overhead costs, a common question that arises is “how can hospitals reduce costs?”
Unfortunately, knee-jerk reactions are often the first “solutions” that facilities go for. Things like layoffs and other traditional cost-cutting methods are used, but these are typically short-term measures that can hurt both the hospitals and their patients in the long run.
1. Reduce Overtime
3. Work Process Automation
As already mentioned, labour is typically the highest cost for hospitals. And this isn’t just a result of too much overtime (though this is definitely a contributing factor). Mistakes in manual workforce management procedures can significantly increase labour costs – this could range from tracking hours worked, to the allocation of time off and vacation, all the way through payroll and beyond. Furthermore, many hospitals don’t have the right processes in place to allow them to identify staffing gaps and other areas that create inefficiencies. By automating many of these work processes, hospitals can reduce labour costs significantly.
The question “how can hospitals reduce costs” isn’t one that is easily tackled. Because there are so many factors at play, there is no simple, one-size-fits-all solution. That said, by focusing on high-cost areas that can be controlled – supply chain, volume of overtime, and other labour-related costs – hospitals can begin to drive down overhead costs, while continuing to offer exceptional health care. 