By Jennifer Melham
As a healthcare leader, you know what it takes to keep your organization competitive, but what keeps you competitive? Imagine being the healthcare leader known for bringing innovative solutions to your CFO.
Now is the time to start the conversation around building a partnership with a managed services provider (MSP) to manage and reduce costs—music to your CFO’s ears! Cost-saving solutions are highly sought-after, and healthcare systems nationwide especially prioritize staffing costs.
The pandemic has worsened clinician staffing shortages, which are expected to continue. Relying solely on technology, such as vendor management systems (VMS), may have worked for hospitals and healthcare facilities in the past when the supply of candidates outnumbered open jobs. However, different solutions are needed today, and these are the solutions you can bring to your CFO now.
Because competition for quality candidates is increasing while the supply of top talent is shrinking, there is no better time to get ahead of this for your organization.
The Cost-Effectiveness of an MSP
Staffing agencies and MSP agreements are more than quick solutions in times of crisis, such as with the industry’s continuing nursing shortages. The right workforce solutions partner provides your facility access to a robust healthcare ecosystem, even looking beyond travelers and contingent staff into how we can impact your permanent staff.
Medical Solutions directly addresses this by encouraging temp-to-perm hiring without a fee once a traveler’s contract is finished. Other ways that utilizing an MSP directly impacts your permanent staff while contributing to cost reduction is by:
- Increasing efficiency and productivity among permanent staff through reduced administrative burden, specifically in Payroll and Billing departments.
- Maintaining appropriate staffing levels by providing travelers, per diem, and strike staffing as needed, potentially improving patient outcomes.
- Filling skill gaps within your organization through specialized training and added support for complex patient cases.
- Improving retention rates of permanent staff by providing support and assistance that reduces burnout.
- Meeting compliance requirements so that permanent staff are less likely to experience compliance violations and the associated costs.
Another factor that speaks to the cost-effectiveness of an MSP is rather than working with a dozen different agencies or vendors, your organization pays for a single service that addresses a host of needs, including data management, predictive forecasting, contract negotiation, bill rate reduction, and vendor management support.
Looking Beyond Technology
It’s easy to be impressed by technology-driven solutions such as adopting a VMS. However, a VMS is simply one tool within a much broader toolbox. Your organization needs more than what a VMS alone can provide to address and forecast your staffing needs.
“Technology is important! But the people behind the technology and the service you get through a partnership are equally important. Technology such as a VMS is not customized to what you need—you must conform to it rather than have it conform to you. Additionally, you have no control over the most coveted resource an MSP provides—an internal recruitment force that will prioritize ensuring your talent needs are filled beyond your expectations.” – Scott Armstrong, Sr. Director of Client Growth, Medical Solutions
When healthcare executives have that internal recruitment force, they can create different financial strategies in-house, resulting in a lower margin profile for them as a company. Working solely with a VMS also means dealing with their fees, which are, on average, greater than those of working with an MSP.
Hospitals oftentimes may not realize that when using a VMS, they’ll need to manage bill rates with multiple vendors and agencies on their own. In contrast, due to their scale, the MSP can negotiate lower bill rates with vendors and agencies. Our clients find this when working with Medical Solutions; we can reduce and even eliminate affiliate fees.
Your CFO’s primary concern is saving money for your organization. When you, as a healthcare leader, approach them with a solution that creates efficiencies in both hard and soft dollar costs to your facility, you’re helping your organization.
We are excited to help you get the conversation started. When you’re ready to learn more about Medical Solutions’ healthcare ecosystem, please contact our sales team!
Jennifer Melham is a content specialist for Medical Solutions.