3 Powerful Ways to Streamline Hospital Staffing

Why Streamlining Your Hospital Staffing is More Important Than Ever

Hospital staffing has never been a simple matter for hospital administrators.  The U.S. is expected to have a shortfall of nearly 124,000 physicians by 2034.  Inflationary pressures, increasing patient acuity, and an aging population have made hospitalist, specialist, and nursing positions even more challenging than ever.  the challenge of keeping hospitalist and nursing positions filled more acutely than ever. 

Almost anyone who works in a hospital now will tell you that conditions have yet to return to “normal” since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Hospitals across the country are still wrestling with a staffing shortage of physicians and nurses. In fact, for the second year in a row, most hospital CEOs have reported staffing issues as their primary concern. 

The majority of hospital administrators and CEOs are looking for ways to streamline their staffing practices and reduce their labor costs. 

Here are 3 proven practices for improving the efficiency and efficacy of your hospital staffing:

1- Collaborate with Your Physicians

Hospital executives and administrators should have an open-door policy with their physicians.  Physicians have a 30,000 ft view of patient throughput, care plans, and quality.  The physicians interact with hospital staff across multiple disciplines including pharmacy, nursing, physical and occupational therapy, respiratory therapy, etc.  

Physicians know the operational challenges affecting a hospital’s efficiencies very well.  By communicating and working with their physicians, hospital executives will have the necessary information to make adjustments in their operations and the right solutions to the current challenges the hospital faces.  

Collaborating with your physicians yields many benefits, including:

• A clearer view of operational challenges and potential solutions. 
• Perspectives that can help you reorder priorities appropriately when necessary. 
• Practical knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of current policies and procedures. 
• First-hand experience with your patients and other staff on a daily basis. 

2- Create a Positive Culture

For physicians and ancillary staff to buy into the objectives and goals of the hospital’s executive team, they need to feel that the hospitals value their work and appreciate their contributions.  Physicians, nurses, and ancillaries should feel like another cog in the wheel but an integral and necessary part of the medical center.  

The executive team should encourage open lines of communication between all disciplines.  While all employees should treat one another respectfully, the administration needs to empower their physicians to lead the staff and direct patient care.  Ultimately, it is the physicians who are responsible for the decisions that affect throughput, quality, and patient satisfaction.

Creating a positive culture will:

• Improve morale while still preserving the chain of command. 
• Open lines of communication, giving you better situational awareness. 
• Keep the focus on quality of care and patient satisfaction.
• Increase productivity and inspire staff to reach their full potential. 

3- Take Ownership of Your Workforce

Outsourcing physician services is one of the biggest mistakes hospital executives make when attempting to streamline their staffing. Management and administrative companies are costly and offer little to no return on investment and no value-added benefit whatsoever.  

Rather, these third-party companies simply add overhead expenses, reducing the capital available to ensure an appropriately staffed and compensated physician service. If you want to attract and retain the best physicians, you need to be able to offer competitive compensation and a well-functioning staff structure. Outsourcing physician services is antithetical to all of these goals. 

Master Your Hospital’s Staffing Challenges with Open Source MD

Open Source MD has created a novel approach to hospital staffing which supplies physicians who work as independent contractors, directly for the hospital. This direct connection leads to long-term solutions rather than temporary fixes for systemic staffing problems. Our model greatly reduces the burden on hospital HR departments and administrators and allows your staff to focus on care and patient satisfaction.

Some benefits of Open Source MD’s innovative hospital staffing model:

• NO recruitment, locums, or human resources costs for the hospital.
• The hospitals pay the doctors directly and retain control over their services
• Allows hospitals to adapt their physician workforce size based on seasonal patient volumes.
• A closer partnership between the physician and the hospital without third-party interference.
• Long-term solutions for chronic staffing shortages rather than temporary fixes. 

The Open Source MD model connects physicians and hospitals and empowers more effective hospital staffing. Unlike the usual third-party agencies, we facilitate the doctor-hospital relationship rather than complicating it. If you’re tired of the struggle to maintain a workforce of talented hospitalists and other physicians in your hospital, Open Source MD has solutions. Call us today at 336-997-9840 or contact us online to learn more.