Finally, many healthcare professionals noted a cultural challenge in their
organizations, with financial executives viewing staffing differently from
clinical and nursing executives. Eighty-five percent of executive respondents
said data-driven staffing has a significant impact on cost containment
efforts. However, there can be a disconnect between financial and clinical
leaders about how the data should be leveraged for cost containment.
One registered nurse at a hospital in the South said an FTE is an FTE in her
facility, regardless of whether it is a nurse or a housekeeper. "Our CFO is often
resistant to allow any changes to nurse staffing, as we already cost so much."
Another director of perioperative services noted the current administration at
her hospital in the South uses nurse-to-patient ratios regardless of patients'
acuity. "Our system is driven by the CFO instead of nursing," she said.
A reliable data-driven staffing solution serves as a bridge between financial
and clinical decision makers, enabling staffing that is both cost effective and
clinically sound. Tools that provide objective data and depict patient needs
on a timely basis can reinforce CNOs, CFOs and care teams for a healthier
partnership.
Largest obstacle to data-driven staffing in organizations
26% Technolog
y
32% Budget
41% Attitudes
"The attitude
most worrisome
to me is the
insistence on
utilizing the
'staffing factors
we've always used,'
as if that has
any relevance to
whether staffing is
actually
appropriate
or not ."
