In healthcare, at the heart of every interaction is the human interaction between clinician and patient. We face growing challenges in hospice, especially with balancing staffing needs, while being mindful of operational costs. It is more important than ever to work together in identifying new approaches and strategies that meet patient and staffing demands — both in sheer volume and in elevating the experience.

In the end, staffing smarter is not just about numbers and data. It’s about people — the patients who rely on healthcare professionals for their well-being and the clinicians who devote their lives to caring for others. By putting the emotional needs of these individuals at the forefront of our staffing and management decisions, we can create a healthcare system that truly reflects the compassion and empathy that lies at the heart of healthcare itself.

Staffing is one of the biggest expenses for healthcare organizations, and finding ways to reduce these costs can lead to significant savings. At the same time, healthcare organizations also need to ensure that they are providing high-quality care and an excellent experience for their patients and clinicians.

To achieve this goal, staffing smarter employs a range of strategies, including optimizing staffing levels, improving workforce productivity, leveraging technology and data analytics and providing more flexibility in scheduling and work arrangements. These strategies can help healthcare organizations better align staffing levels with patient demand, reduce unnecessary overtime and agency staffing costs and improve overall workforce efficiency and effectiveness.

Another critical aspect of staffing smarter is elevating the clinician experience. By providing more flexibility and support for clinicians, healthcare organizations can improve their job satisfaction, reduce burnout and turnover and ultimately improve patient outcomes. Strategies to elevate the clinician experience may include offering more flexible scheduling options, providing additional training and professional development opportunities and creating a positive and supportive work environment.

Our Smart Staffing Questions and Answers

How have you seen providers create flexibility to meet increasing patient demands?

Creating flexible models through on-demand staff approaches

• Understanding current workflows as they relate to resources
• Have options for your triage strategy

What have you found to help providers in reducing their operating costs?

Reducing operational costs at the cost per call, interaction level

• Understanding call volume and cost per call
• Call codes
• Proactive prevention
• First-call resolution

How do you achieve peace of mind in staffing while scaling?

Using data to fact-check intuition, understanding unscheduled calls and using technology to create agility

• Expanded view of hospice — challenge the status quo
• Best practices you have seen

How do we utilize technology to augment the human side of care?

Solve the chaos with:

• Fast connection of patient to provider
• Communication — applications should talk to each other to reduce picking it up twice
• Patient care should be a collaborative approach — in both our technologies and how they serve us in treating the patient

Check out the full thought panel hosted by Hospice News (www.hospicenews.com) where we shared varied strategies to staffing smarter!

Overall, staffing smarter is a comprehensive approach to healthcare staffing that aims to reduce costs, while improving the quality of care and the experience of clinicians. By adopting these strategies, healthcare organizations can achieve a more sustainable staffing model that supports both their financial and clinical goals.

Home Health Staffing With CareXM

From the moment you select CareXM, you gain the ultimate partner in experience management. With a single-minded focus on healthcare, CareXM is transforming the way care is delivered. CareXM is staffed with clinical nurses and non-clinical healthcare professionals who are trained and HIPAA-compliant to help your patients and support your team around the clock. Every interaction is seamlessly made possible by the most advanced virtual health technology.

Only CareXM offers a turnkey solution that automatically connects patients directly to a nurse who has the background information they need to help the patient. What’s more, CareXM provides the progressive, yet effortless virtual care tools your team needs to assist patients in the ever-changing world of healthcare. Contact us today to learn more.