Healthcare organizations are under more pressure than ever to boost profit margins and deliver high quality patient care. At the same time, operational costs are rising faster than revenue, making it even more difficult for health groups to achieve these goals.
Despite this disequilibrium, healthcare organizations might need to consider expanding their staff. More physicians, nurses and medical staff strategically identified and on-boarded can lead to new potential revenue opportunities that can help these groups reach their growth milestones.
A report from Moody's found that median operating margins for hospitals dropped from 3.4 percent to 2.7 percent from fiscal year 2015 to FY 2016. During that time, median operating cash flow fell from $76.4 million to $75.9 million. Factors such as spending increases in prescription drugs and labor expenses created a a boost in expenses that contributed to decline.
"As more patients sought out care, hospitals responded by increasing staff."
A main driver of these increases arises from the insurance gains created by the Affordable Care Act, causing a surge in patient demand. As more patients sought out care, hospitals responded by employing a greater number of physicians, nurses and technicians.
While some healthcare organizations might have adequately prepared for the rapid growth in insured patients, there are many that failed to get ahead of the curve. This has lead to haphazard staffing strategies that have contributed to a softening of liquidity measures.
To combat narrowing margins, HR departments and recruiters at healthcare organizations need to take a more focused approach that directly addresses these obstacles.
The increase in insured patients means healthcare organizations will need to respond with more staff. However, it's imperative that recruiters and HR departments take the necessary steps to craft and implement a strategy to search and hire the best candidates without breaking the bank.
In fact, a smart staffing growth strategy can ultimately lead to better quality of care and provide more revenue potential for health care organizations.
For instance, a 2017 survey from Medical Group Management Association found that increasing non-physician providers and support staff led to a rise in revenue for medical practices. In addition, the survey discovered that a greater number of full-time equivalents also boosted practices' productivity.
"A greater number of full-time equivalents boosted practices' productivity."
Having the right balance of physicians, nurses and key support staff can be a tricky endeavor, but with vendor management software (VMS) specifically designed for the healthcare sector, practices can find the right equilibrium and increase revenue potential. With strategic workforce placement, healthcare organizations can focus the time of the most expensive staff members on work that utilizes their full skill set to optimize care quality and its costs.
A sophisticated VMS gives recruiters and HR departments the ability to perform quick and easy candidate searches that identify the best-suited prospects. Not only does this save time and resources during a candidate search, it helps ensure healthcare organizations can strategically fill open positions with the most cost-effective medical staffing solution.
A VMS designed specifically for the medical sector includes credential management options. This simplifies and improves the complex processes, and ensures the worker pool during the candidate search has the right credentials and is ready to get right to work. With a decreased speed to market for identifying and on-boarding new hires, healthcare organizations can keep the flow of workers steady, without having to worry about gaps in filling positions.
Greater options and more control over the hiring process allows managers to craft optimal schedules with physicians, nurses and techs that align with the organization's needs and available budget.
Click here to learn more about how BlueSky Medical Staffing Software can help healthcare organizations strategically expand their staff to drive more revenue potential.