Healthcare staffing demands agility, driven by fluctuating patient volumes and unforeseen events, necessitating data-driven decision-making to balance clinical, operational and financial needs. Utilizing real-time market data, Qualivis empowers heartcare facilities to navigate staffing challenges effectively, ensuring cost-efficient and quality care delivery.
The Key to Agile Staffing
Healthcare staffing is inherently dynamic, influenced by factors such as fluctuating patient volumes, seasonal demands from winter flu and unforeseen events like natural disasters or public health crises. Because of the dynamic nature of healthcare staffing, it is essential that healthcare facilities learn to adapt and make decisions that balance their clinical, operational and financial needs.
Managers continuously contemplate the following questions to ensure facilities maintain open beds and remain adequately prepared to provide a premium level of care for their communities:
- What is their projected volume?
- How much staff do they have?
- How much contingent labor will they need?
- What specialties are needed?
- How competitive is the current market for the required specialty?
- What are the current regional and national market rates for the required specialties?
Navigating Market Trends
Keeping a pulse on healthcare staffing market trends can guide managers in setting an appropriate strategy to get the talent they need—when they need it. Understanding marketplace dynamics, including the number of similar open positions, potential candidate pool size and market rates allows facilities to maintain control of their contingent labor strategy and gauge how competitive they want to be to attract talent and how quickly talent is needed.
“We use data to review where we are at and what the rates are at in our region. It allows us to make sure we are setting our rates at a good spot for the area where our facilities are located. Looking at what the market is paying in our region allows us to be appropriate with that pay rate.”
Damon Mays – West Tennessee Healthcare
How One Healthcare System Saved $3.2M in Three Months
Qualivis, a strategic workforce partner and managed service provider for hundreds of healthcare systems throughout the nation, provides its clients with real-time market data to guide decision-making. One of Qualivis’ clients — a multi-state health system — experienced continual fluctuations in its staffing needs. At various times, the system set its rates high to ensure fulfillment or low to cut back on spending.
To navigate the ebbs and flows of the market, the Qualivis team met with the system’s decision-makers weekly to discuss their needs, share market trends and identify opportunities for cost savings. The Qualivis team showed the health system leaders the market data available to them through their Lotus Connect platform, a complete workforce platform that delivers access to the largest existing repository of healthcare job volume and pricing data. With Lotus Connect’s Market Rate Trends dashboard, clients get real-time market intelligence and rate transparency.
The health system was able to view their facility’s average rates compared to the state, regional and national average and bill rate trends, empowering data-driven decisions, to reduce costs while maintaining appropriate candidate flow and fulfillment. This amounted to a roughly seven percent bill rate reduction across departments, resulting in an estimated $3.2M savings in contingent labor costs in a single quarter.
Proven Data-Driven Performance Strategies
Real-time data is not just about reacting to immediate needs; it’s about carrying out reliable staffing, managing resources and cutting costs. These strategies are proven effective with a track record of tangible results that elevate the effectiveness of healthcare workforce programs.
“Qualivis showed our member all the regional and national data which was really valuable. The Hospital was able to lower the price and provided a really big cost savings for them. I contribute that to all the data and expertise the Qualivis has for our members.”
Tina Creel – Arkansas Hospital Association
The rapidly changing nature of healthcare staffing requires an equally dynamic and data-driven approach. Real-time data on national benchmark market trends and rates is the foremost tool in guiding effective decision-making. As healthcare facilities navigate the complex landscape of staffing demands, access to real-time data ensures adaptability and a strategic advantage in acquiring the right talent to continue delivering quality care. Embracing technology and proven strategies, healthcare facilities can harness the power of this real-time data to stay ahead of the curve and have the clinicians they need when they need it to care for their patients.