Your employees have the inside scoop
Get their ideas for saving money
Want to save money? Put up a cost savings suggestion box with rewards for employees and, potentially, physicians, advises Roger Pence, president of FWI Healthcare, an Edgarton, OH-based consulting firm primarily for ambulatory health care providers.
Place the box in the lounge/break room for employees and surgeons to access, Pence advises. "Right after finishing work, they talk about 'how to save/do we really need,' write it down, and submit," he says. The reward? "A percentage of the savings for the year — not just $10 or a pizza," he says. "It makes it worth their time."
Alternatively, you can calculate the savings as paid time off and let the employee schedule days away, Pence says. "If it is a group effort, take them on a trip or shopping — especially around the holidays," he suggests.
The best idea suggested? Actually, it was more of a confession. "A surgeon had been requesting a new 'wiz-bang-what-do-you-call-it' for some time, needed it for patient care, went to seminar, now patients would die if he didn't get it," Pence says. Management was hesitant, however, because of the price tag and uncertainty about the true need. "Just as we were about to sign the purchase order, the doctor mentions in the OR that it was not that important to have," Pence says. An employee put a note in the box that said he wanted it because the center had not purchased him anything recently. "After learning the status, we had a discussion and identified an item that was really needed for purchase," Pence says.
Consider these other cost-cutting ideas:
- Share with another facility, Pence advises. You could share a biomedical engineer, pharmacist, purchasing and general stores, sterile reprocessing, management information systems, specialized equipment/instruments, human resources, and even part-time employees, he says.
- Schedule all staff start times to coincide with workloads, which may vary daily and by work area, Pence says. "Have a system for approving overtime, minimizing it," he says.
- If you are multispecialty, determine any profitability for the least-volume specialty, Pence advises. "Look at cost of equipment and supplies compared to dollars made," he says.
- Periodically assess service contracts for services vs. price, competitor's offering, and doing it in-house.
- Use volunteers to make beds, relay information, and visit in the waiting room, Pence says.
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