HOSPITALS AND HEALTH SYSTEMS ARE
CHALLENGED TO SIMULTANEOUSLY
DELIVER HIGH-QUALITY CARE
AND LOWEST COST.
As outcomes and the patient experience increasingly determine hospitals'
reimbursement , the data used to drive workforce decisions grows in importance.
Staffing decisions have ramifications for the organization at large, including
financial, clinical and employee performance. In a survey of hospital and health
system executives, respondents indicated a data-driven approach to staffing
supports major organizational outcomes and performance indicators, such
as staff productivity (86 percent), cost containment (85 percent) and patient
outcomes (69 percent).
Although the majority of executives know data is critical to staffing, some are
unclear on how best to obtain and integrate data into staffing processes. "Getting
relevant data is tough," said one hospital executive and vice president at a for-
profit health system in the East . The director of nursing at a 460-bed hospital in
the South said he's seen data harvested manually, which was not a sustainable
process. For these organizations, there's a better, more effective way using
technology.
Most hospitals already possess the data needed for informed staffing decisions.
It's in the EMR. Data-driven staffing solutions are the bridge between the data-
packed EMR and staffing decisions. These solutions draw a comprehensive
picture of patient care needs, acuity projections and patient flow. This means
organizations can harness the large volumes of data they already have to match
patients and caregivers in a way that optimizes outcomes and lowers costs.
These mounting dual pressures are prompting hospitals to
incorporate data into their workforce practices for smarter
staffing decisions that achieve quality and financial demands.
