Impact Cost and Quality with Workforce Strategies | 7
T
ogether with API Healthcare, my company
and I have taken a deep dive into the issue
of nurse overtime. During our research, we
found information about the impact of overtime
that wasn't too surprising – overtime inflates
labor costs.
However, we also found information that was
more startling – overtime can be a root cause of
turnover, patient dissatisfaction, medical errors
and nurse injuries. I was able to present these
research findings during a recent webinar called
"How Overtime May Be Harming Your Business
and Patients."
After hearing about the impact of overtime
beyond the overtime costs, the webinar
attendees asked some very salient questions.
One question came up over and over: At what
point is it less expensive to use overtime rather
than recruit another FTE?
The very first question that needs to be answered
in order to address this issue is:
Is the overtime being used as a short-term
solution or a long-term strategy?
Overtime can be a reasonable solution to a
short-term staffing issue. For example, during
short periods of high census, putting nurses into
overtime can help ensure that patients get the
care they require.
However, pervasive and prevalent overtime for
long periods of time is not only costly; it can also
put patients and staff at increased risk.
Consider the following research findings:
• The risk for making an error more than
doubles when nurses work 12.5+ consecutive
hours.
i
• Nurses working shifts of 13+ are 2.57 times
more likely to intend to leave their job in the
next year than nurses who work 8-9 hours.
ii
• As nurses work more hours, patients are more
likely to rank hospitals 6 out of 10 or below in
HCAHPS.
iii
• Working in jobs with overtime schedules is
associated with a 61% higher injury hazard
rate compared to jobs without overtime.
iv
With those statistics in mind, it's easy to see that
if overtime is being used as a long-term strategy,
it's time to carefully evaluate if there's a need to
hire more staff.
For more information about the potential costs
and risks associated with overtime, I invite you to
take a look at a white paper that addresses this
topic in more detail.
A simple cost/benefit analysis
of overtime vs. hiring staff
By Pat Ball
"
"
However, pervasive and prevalent
overtime for long periods of time is
not only costly; it can also put
patients and staff at increased risk.
i
Rogers, Ann, et al. The Working Hours Of Hospital Staff Nurses
And Patient Safety. Health Affairs, 23, no.4 (2004):202-212.
ii
Stimpfel, Amy, et al. The Longer The Shifts For Hospital Nurses,
The Higher The Levels Of Burnout And Patient
Dissatisfaction. Health Affairs, 31, no. 11 (2012): 2501-2509.
iii
Ibid.
iv
Occup Environ Med. "The Impact of overtime and long work
hours on occupational injuries and illnesses: new evidence from
the United States. 2005;62:588-597" Accessed July 10, 2014.
