The Time Is Now To Consider Outsourcing In Healthcare
[January 6, 2023] – Amid the chaos and restrictions we all endured through the pandemic, some positive strides were made. Employers learned ever-evolving technology facilitates remote work for many positions without negatively impacting productivity. A little closer to home, telehealth found itself in the spotlight and has moved ever closer to the mainstream offering in-patient care.
In a similar manner of next-gen “good-coming-from-bad,” challenging economic conditions in recent years have given rise to outsourcing in healthcare, particularly in often cash-strapped hospitals and specialty clinics. Perhaps now more than ever before, healthcare administrators are taking a close, open-minded look at the advantages of outsourcing such services as nursing, equipment technicians, supply chain management, etc.
Benefits of Outsourcing
A timeless, widely embraced nugget of business wisdom urges professionals not to waste time on tasks and responsibilities you’re simply not very good at, or that require an inordinate amount of your time and focus. Instead, concentrate on leveraging your core skills and strengths, applying them to priority tasks and delegate the rest. More and more, that delegation means outsourcing to people who are experts in areas you may not be.
Let’s take a closer look at the advantages of outsourcing:
When you hire a qualified outsourcing partner to handle your specific needs, you are assured you’ll be receiving expert support because these are specialists who live in a world daily that you do not.
Outsourcing is a predetermined fixed cost so there are no surprises. You know exactly the amount of time and associated fees you’ll be budgeting each month, quarter or on an annualized basis. However, some forward-thinking companies are creating risk-sharing contracts or building a variable contract based on procedural volume to address fixed costs.
You’ll be contracting for outsourced support based on need so you don’t have to absorb costs of “down time” as you might with a W2 employee whose work continuum often includes busy peaks and slower valleys.
You will not be paying costly employee benefits [i.e., employee/family healthcare, PTO, 401k, etc.] to an outsource partner.
Additionally, you do not need to assign full-time office space and overhead as you would with many of your employees.
You will not need to pay for training and certification costs as they continue to rise and are becoming a very expensive annual occurrence.
It is much easier to move on from an outsourced service partner than it is to terminate an employee who might pursue legal action in a labor court.
Tough times for hospitals ...
Juniper Networks, an IT consultant to healthcare and many other industries, says the three most pressing issues the hospitals and specialty clinics face today are:
1. Brick and mortar depreciation costs
2. Being heavily leveraged on fixed costs such as insurance [many different lines], long-term leases that facilities are locked into and capital budget restrictions.
3. Staffing costs which have skyrocketed in recent years, as well as unprecedented competition for qualified candidates to fill open positions.
As a result, today’s challenging economic environment makes outsourcing a more attractive option now than ever. It may be time for you to do a deep-dive analysis of your various cost centers and identify outsourcing opportunities which can help you not only contain costs but create greater efficiencies in process and medical procedures. If labor and staffing are your biggest costs, you would benefit from outsourcing at least some of those needs.
Surgical Solutions offers a comprehensive and integrated suite of procedural support services and solutions that address your facility’s unique challenges; streamline processes that negatively impact your procedural environment; and help you establish a thriving work environment that fosters relationship-building, collaboration and high-talent retention. Surgical Solutions can help your facility become the preferred choice for surgeons, staff [W2 and outsourced] and the patients you serve. Its five key areas of expertise are: Customized Solutions and Processes, Specialized Staffing Support, Supply Chain Management, Equipment Sourcing/Maintenance/Repairs and Actionable Data Analytics.
The time is right now to give outsourcing some serious consideration if you haven’t done so already.
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Enrique Gallegos
FACHE
CEO
For more than two decades, Enrique has held senior executive positions with some of the nation’s leading health system corporations – spanning non-profit, faith- based and investor-owned organizations. He has a passion for improving healthcare through technology innovation, demonstrated by his early-stage investments and advisor positions to numerous healthcare startups.
Betty Casey
MSN, RN, CNOR
SVP, OPERATIONS
With more than 30 years of leadership experience, Betty has served in surgical services, women, and children’s, cardiovascular, and outpatient surgery as well as academic-based programs – from Level I trauma centers to outpatient surgical joint ventures. Her passion is in setting systems and processes to allow for innovative changes in today’s healthcare setting.