Health systems have long been incorporating more flexibility into their staffing models, and those plans have only accelerated since the beginning of 2020. Faced with staffing shortages and unexpected revenue pitfalls, health systems are realizing the value of contingent labor for flexibility and productivity while managing costs effectively.
The financial and emotional costs of not being properly staffed are a concern now more than ever. Through the right staffing partnership, contingent labor becomes a strategic financial lever for health systems while helping to prevent burnout and maintain capacity utilization in facilities.
The right staffing partner can help health systems drive long-term financial success in numerous ways:
Increased financial flexibility: Healthcare facilities’ financial needs have changed—and continue to change—drastically. In addition to short-term changes in staffing with the absence and return of elective surgeries, contingent labor provides dynamic and flexible support while taking risk and cost out of the equation for hospitals, despite supply and demand imbalances.
Predictive staffing models: The right healthcare staffing partner improves the financial resiliency of health systems by using predictive models to determine seasonal and geographic staffing needs. By staying ahead of their needs, facilities can effectively manage their labor spend—while allowing staffing partners to fill positions with experienced clinicians that are a good fit for assignments. In doing so, healthcare facilities experience higher traveler completion rates, faster and greater certainty in filling positions, which improves the quality of care and positively impacts patient outcomes.
We are keenly aware of the financial challenges healthcare facilities face today and in the future. Having the right staffing partner is critical to a health system’s bottom line in the wake of unforeseen financial pressures during 2020. Contingent labor is no longer about filling needs as they appear; it should be viewed as a crucial and proactive component of a health system’s staffing strategy. Additionally, by utilizing a staffing partner’s expertise, predictive modeling and a vast network of skilled travelers, health systems can strengthen their own recruitment and retention strategies.
Using contingent labor as a strategic lever creates a chain reaction with positive outcomes across your entire health system. When adequately staffed, health systems can deliver optimal care to a larger number of patients, which helps to alleviate financial pressure. Meanwhile, the secondary administrative and financial effects of being understaffed—from burnout and attrition to lower patient satisfaction and outcome scores, which impacts HCAHPS reimbursements—could become a threat to the long-term financial buoyancy of a system.
The benefits of a staffing partnership are being realized now more than ever, as it’s become clear that the costs and risks of not incorporating contingent labor into your staffing strategy are detrimental to the wellbeing of patients, clinicians and the bottom line of your health system.
If you are interested in learning more about increasing your financial flexibility and how Medical Solutions’ predictive modeling leads to improved patient outcomes, you can learn more here or call us at 866-633-3548.
Dan Shedivy, Chief Financial Officer
Dan leads Medical Solutions’ financial operations and strategic growth planning processes in concert with the executive team. He most recently served as CFO for Select Rehabilitation in Chicago. Dan previously held roles of managing director with William Blair’s Healthcare Investment Banking Group, portfolio manager with JPMorgan Chase, and as engagement manager with McKinsey & Co. in New York. Dan received his bachelor’s degree in Economics from Northwestern University and his MBA from Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, where he continues to teach as part of the Kapnick Center for Business Institutions.