HOSPITAL COST CUTTING: Don’t cut support staff

Five mistakes managers should avoid in approaching hospital cost cutting are explored in this analysis based on research done in conjunction with the Institute for Healthcare Improvement.  Tips drawn from this research indicate that managers should:

• Hire enough support staff to allow caregivers to practice at the top of their license
• Invest in space and equipment to allow clinicians to decrease idle time spent waiting for resources
• Examine how individual physicians consume supplies
• Allow physicians enough time during patient visits to counsel and teach
• Explore benchmarks and standardization

Source: Kaplan, R.S., and Haas, D.A. (2014, November). How not to cut health care costs: the missteps that keep us paying too much for treatment. Harvard Business Review. 92(11), 116-122.  Click here for access to publisher’s website: http://hbr.org/2014/11/how-not-to-cut-health-care-costs/ar/1  Posted by AHA Resource Center (312) 422-2050, rc@aha.org