If data-driven decisions aren’t made in healthcare staffing, the cost of doing nothing can be significant. Learn more about the consequences of inaction.

By: Julie Dey, Vice President, Account Management &amp; Supplier Partnerships · Cross Country HealthcareHospitals and health systems are under unprecedented financial constraints. According to a 2022 report from the <a href="https://www.aha.org/system/files/media/file/2022/09/The-Current-State-of-Hospital-Finances-Fall-2022-Update-KaufmanHall.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">American Hospital Association</a>, expenses are significantly elevated from pre-pandemic levels, and many have incurred serious financial losses in 2022 relative to pre-pandemic levels.To make matters worse, many of these institutions are in decision fatigue—keeping the status quo instead of addressing workforce shortages, supply disruptions, and rising expenses head on, and it's costing them millions of dollars. If data-driven decisions aren’t made, the cost of doing nothing can be significant. Without the sophisticated use of data, a hospital – big or small – will spend anywhere from eight to 10 percent more right off the top.<h2>Where do hospitals turn for solutions? How can they address the challenges driving financial distress?</h2>There are many areas where data, analytics and modern technology like artificial intelligence can drive positive cost outcomes, including workforce and vendor management, billing, and supply chain. A key success factor is being able to access and use that data in a meaningful way across the organization at all levels. We recently introduced a new technology-enabled platform that does just this. The Intellify vendor management system takes data and serves it up in a way that is digestible and easy to use, no matter how experienced you are looking at data analytics, to help health systems streamline their operations on many levels.<h2>Another key differentiator with Intellify is that it’s not just a software offering – it’s a partnership.</h2>With Intellify, we don’t simply integrate a platform and leave it to the hospitals to figure it out. We are a total workforce solutions partner. We put hospitals in the driver’s seat, and we are in the passenger seat with the map. We help to guide them as much or as little as they want to make informed decisions for their workforce. We are not going to fix it overnight, but we move quickly to get cost containment as soon as possible.Here is a tangible example. One area that is inarguably a pain point for many hospitals is staffing—and it’s an area ripe for innovation. Dependence on temporary staffing has skyrocketed during and following the COVID-19 pandemic. During the Omicron surge (January and February 2022), the 7-day average of hospitals reporting critical staffing shortages peaked at 22 percent during mid-January 2022, according to the <a href="https://aspe.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/9cc72124abd9ea25d58a22c7692dccb6/aspe-covid-workforce-report.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation</a> . Temporary staffers are undeniably necessary and an integral part of our industry, but hospitals now need to manage the utilization of both temporary and permanent staff in a more strategic way. Data, analytics and technology hold the key.For example, a big cost driver for hospitals remains the underutilization of current employees. We can help look at each unit, each shift, and then only use temporary staffing when absolutely needed. Intellify can help streamline and drive efficiency in cost savings in temporary, per diem staff. It does this by using data and analytics to improve two primary programs: per diem and the internal resource pool.The internal resource pool is essentially per diem for the clinicians that are employed by the hospital. In today’s gig economy, we often see call-offs or open shifts that pop up and require coverage. In these instances, the hospital will have an available pool of talent that can range from full-time employees to employees who are seeking overtime and so on. Intellify allows hospitals to manage these vacant shifts and fill them internally first before seeking temporary staff. This will begin to solve for cost containment and excessive reliance on temporary staffing.How do you tap into that mom of three that wants to pick up a couple of shifts a month and wants to maintain her active license? Those are the people that we need to utilize. We have an opportunity to use recruiting methods using data that can even ultimately help us get more healthcare professionals back to the bedside. This is all done in partnership with hospitals based on their specific market, demand, and needs.There are tools available to help institutions manage their challenges, and we know how to help. That’s where we come in.

The Cost of Doing Nothing

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