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Lower costs and ease regulatory compliance burdens for healthcare providers

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Inovalon

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Administrative spending accounts for approximately 25% of the nearly $4 trillion in annual healthcare spending in the U.S. The highly regulated and complex nature of the U.S. healthcare system is a source of these rising costs due to the resources needed to maintain regulatory compliance and the labor costs associated with staff management.

Although administrative costs are often viewed through a negative lens, many of the associated tasks are essential to ensuring optimal patient care — such as managing staffing needs and adhering to regulations.

Post pandemic, the economic challenges facing the healthcare industry have led to a rethinking of operations and increased investments in digital transformations. In this context, research indicates that the aggressive pursuit of “industry-leading productivity programs” by organizations double their chances to be in the “top quintile of their peers as measured by economic profit.”

Here, we identify three major challenges faced by healthcare providers and describe how Inovalon’s workforce management suite of solutions support digital transformation efforts, offering a one-stop-shop to streamline efficiencies within the organization.

1. Rising administrative and labor costs required for regulatory compliance are creating economic burdens

Maintaining regulatory compliance is a growing challenge for healthcare organizations. Even seasoned compliance professionals say they are overwhelmed by the onslaught of new and ongoing regulatory requirements. Of course, the resources needed to meet these complex requirements only add to an organization’s costs.

Increased labor costs are also contributing to the economic burden healthcare organizations face. Consider that:

In light of stats like those, it may come as no surprise that workforce challenges were cited by CEOs as the top issue confronting hospitals in 2022. In the annual survey conducted by the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE), this is the second year in a row that workforce challenges ranked number one. Prior to that, financial challenges — which came in second — held the top spot for 16 consecutive years.

The good news is that with Inovalon’s Schedule Management™ tool, you have robust software to effectively address workforce challenges. When paired with Schedule Management, the following software applications can help ease the economic burdens associated with regulatory compliance related to credentialing, as well as labor costs associated with workforce management:

    • Workforce Intelligence: Leverage real-time data to drive safe, cost-effective staffing and scheduling decisions.
    • Credential Management: Collect, organize and track staff licenses and certifications online – and keep up with upcoming expirations and continued education needs so staff can continue to provide the excellent care patients need while meeting position requirements.
    • Attendance Management: Define and track attendance policies, time-keeping rules, contractual commitments, and regulatory requirements. View attendance information that greatly improves workforce management analytics, providing comparison of plan (schedule) to actual (time punch) data. Managers can easily access target to actual comps, true productivity, EPOB calculations, financial attendance, and true overtime.

2. Staff burnout and turnover are leading to unsatisfactory patient care

As the American Nurses Association (ANA) notes, appropriate nurse staffing levels are “critical to optimizing quality of patient care, improving care outcomes, and long-term cost containment.” And they lead to multiple benefits, including:

    • Reduced mortality rates
    • Reduced length of patient stays
    • Reduced preventable adverse events

Over the past two decades, multiple studies have confirmed the link between inadequate nurse staffing levels and negative patient outcomes. Among the various factors that contribute to this dynamic, staff burnout is one of the most concerning.

Citing research from the National Academy of Medicine, U.S. Surgeon General Vice Admiral Vivek Murthy, MD, MBA, said in a special advisory issued in May 2022 that even before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, burnout throughout the U.S. healthcare workforce had reached crisis levels.

“Burnout among health workers has harmful consequences for patient care and safety, such as decreased time spent between provider and patient, increased medical errors and hospital-acquired infections among patients,” the Surgeon General said.

Surveys of healthcare workers have consistently confirmed that even in this post-pandemic era, staff burnout and turnover continue to plague the healthcare industry:

In his advisory, the Surgeon General noted that although it is clear that burnout among healthcare workers is costly, assessing and measuring it can be difficult.

However, by integrating Inovalon’s Workforce Intelligence™ application, organizations can identify staff at risk of burnout before it happens with automatic staffing alerts using research-backed metrics.

Additionally, Inovalon’s Attendance Management™ gives staff the flexibility to punch in and out from their phones or tablets, while you keep track of staff metrics, compliance, and trends.

3. Siloed technology solutions are reducing organizational efficiency and productivity

Another issue that contributes to staff burnout and rising costs is the presence of siloed organizational data within multiple technology platforms.

According to findings by KLAS from its sixth annual Digital Health Investment Symposium, providers indicated that “a lack of true interoperability and poor integration and scalability of disparate point solutions exacerbate staff burnout and contribute to problems with training and retaining talent.”

Fortunately, Inovalon has you covered when it comes to interoperability challenges like these. That’s because all Inovalon add-ons described here — Workforce Intelligence, Credential Management, and Attendance Management — can be integrated with Schedule Management, enabling data sharing across your healthcare system to help improve efficiency and boost productivity while eliminating silos.

A one-stop source for your workforce management needs

Inovalon helps providers simplify the complexities of staff scheduling with workforce management software built for healthcare professionals across acute, post-acute, and ambulatory settings. Our integrated scheduling software provides access to real-time data, attendance, and credentialing and tracking of internal staff — offering a one-stop source for all your workforce management needs.

Research supports the power of integrated technology solutions like ours to tackle rising costs associated with administrative tasks. Consider that:

When it comes to selecting the best technology software to help providers meet their goals, a trusted business partner like Inovalon is often the first choice. In fact, 72% of providers are looking more at existing vendors with proven solutions before considering new vendors.

Complementing the power of Schedule Management with the add-on capabilities of Workforce Intelligence, Attendance Management, and Credential Management can help your organization reduce administrative burdens, optimize staffing, improve the patient experience, and create a coherent approach to digital transformation.

Even better, you can do it without the complexity and implementation costs associated with introducing unnecessary vendors that may disrupt your workflow.

By relying on one trusted partner to meet all of your software needs, you can enjoy improved efficiency, enhanced productivity, and the peace of mind that comes from knowing that the search for effective solutions is over. Inovalon has you covered.

Schedule a demo today.

Inovalon and design® and Inovalon® are trademarks of Inovalon, Inc.


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