TECHNOLOGY AND COST CONTAINMENT NURS 8100

A Sample Answer For the Assignment: TECHNOLOGY AND COST CONTAINMENT NURS 8100

In the healthcare industry, nurses’ turnover is a significant challenge to contain health costs. It was ranked third of the top three industries with high turnover, with the nurses’ turnover becoming a rapidly growing human resource problem that affects the healthcare sector worldwide (Cohen, 2019). Its world rate is considered very high, ranging from 15 to 44%, resulting in a significant impact on a hospital’s profit margin, with the average cost of turnover for a nurse ranging from $37,700 to $58,400, and hospitals losing $5.2 million to $8.1 million annually (Lockhart, 2020).

According to the 2019 National Healthcare Retention & RN Staffing Report, it costs between $40,300 and $64,000 to replace one clinical nurse, with the average hospital losing $4.4 million to $6.9 million each year (Lockhart, 2020). The turnover rate for RNs continues to rise, 43 percent of new nurses working in hospitals leave their jobs within three years, and additionally, 33.5 percent resign after two years, and 17.5 percent work only one year (Lockhart, 2020). Nursing turnover is extremely costly for healthcare organizations, which struggle to keep experienced and novice nurses alike, but 18% percent of new nurses change jobs or even professions, within the first year after graduation, and an additional one-third leave within 2 years (Lockhart, 2020). Nationally, the nursing turnover rate averages 19.1% and rising, leaving a nursing vacancy rate of 8%, and the average period it takes to fill a nursing position is 85 days, with more than three months, for a specialized nursing position (Lockhart, 2020).

The hospital managers state that nurse turnover disrupts hospital service operations, staffing processes, managerial processes, hospital revenue, loss of experienced and trained nurses, nurse shortages, and an imbalanced composition of new and remaining nurses, which increases the costs for recruitment and training cost for new hires (Dewanto & Wardhani, 2018). The turnover negatively affects hospital services, revenue is disrupted, due to the decreased work productivity of the new nurses, increased expenses related to new hires’ recruitment, mentoring training to placement, and, because the new nurses require an orientation process, as their skills do not meet the expected standards (Dewanto & Wardhani, 2018). 

These staffing problems cause issues in setting schedules, necessitating increased overtime, low morale of existing nurses, the less-than-optimal service provided, because of communication, and, barriers between the senior and the new nurses (Dewanto & Wardhani, 2018). The services are heavily impacted, leaving the patients frustrated with frequent replacements, mediocre treatment by a less competent new nurse leading to the patient’s decreased trust, satisfaction, and increased complaints about nursing service (Dewanto & Wardhani, 2018).

The advancements in technology and their implementation can alleviate some of the turnovers by improving workflows and making patient care easier. Technology use can reduce medical care costs. reduce the burden on nurses, motivate more clinicians into the workforce to mitigate the shortage, and improve the transparency of medical records between healthcare organizations (Cohen, 2019). The development of innovative nursing practice models with increased computer technology, to be used for all documentation of patient care, and generation of the electronic medical records (EMRs) is an example (Moore, 2000). 

There are several other technologies which include including telehealth, artificial intelligence, texting, blockchain credentialing, mobile staffing apps staff augmentation, and artificial Intelligence being some of the tools, which make daily workflows easier for nurses and nurse practitioners amid a shortage of clinicians (Agbo et al., 2019). These tools can help to alleviate the shortage’s effects on nurses and NPs, by improving efficiencies in their daily workflows and how they provide care for patients. Many providers and patients were initially uncomfortable with telehealth, however, the pandemic not only increased adoption but also led to a rise in comfort levels, for those using the technology, allowing nurses and NPs to see more patients in a day (Rojahn, et al., 2016).

Blockchain credentialing is an app that allows for a nurse’s credential data to be stored on multiple servers, rather than just a single server, allowing organizations to see entries in real-time, which creates a public electronic ledger, making it easier for healthcare organizations to look up a nurse’s credentials and speed up approvals (Agbo et al., 2019). The mobile staffing apps and staff augmentation, modulate the staffing based on patient volume and acuity, allowing nurses and NPs to see the hospital’s schedule, sign in, swap a shift, or pick up holidays (Mayer et al., 2019).

 It also allows healthcare organizations to supplement their support staff, through third-party staffing to ensure operations run smoothly, with the clinicians being to able to focus better on patient care and complete their day-to-day tasks efficiently (Mayer et al., 2019). Artificial Intelligence is often applied within healthcare to make sense of clinical data by identifying trends, that can lead to better patient outcomes, and can be used to assess fall risk, or detect tuberculosis in x-rays (Mayer et al., 2019).

I agree with policymakers that technology needs to be more introduced as mainstream in health care because healthcare policies and insights, need to be revolved around a multifaceted approach to address nurses’ shortage and turnover. One insight is the introduction of the electronic medical record (EMR) and other technological advances, which can also affect nurses staying in or leaving the organization (Haddad et al., 2022). Another insight is the electronic scheduling tool, which allows nurses to sign up for individual shifts they are qualified to cover, as well as trade shifts with other nurses with the same skill set when needed, this has the ability not only helps with work-life balance, flexibility but also makes scheduling easier for both nurses and management (Haddad et al., 2022). Social media on job recruitment platforms have become major sources of information for nurses looking for jobs as they provide an opportunity for the organization to communicate, introduce and explain the kind of environment they have, through the reviews provided by both workers and patients (Haddad et al., 2022).

References:

Agbo, C. C., Mahmoud, Q. H., & Eklund, J. M. (2019). Blockchain Technology in Healthcare: A Systematic Review. Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland), 7(2), 56. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare7020056

Cohen, J. K. (2019). Tech helping to alleviate nurse shortage, experience gaps. Modern Healthcare, 49(32), 14.

Dewanto, A., Wardhani, V. (2018). Nurse turnover and perceived causes and consequences: a preliminary study at private hospitals in Indonesia. BMC Nurs 17, 5. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-018-0317-8

Haddad, L. M., Annamaraju, P., &Toney-Butler, T. J. (2022). Nursing Shortage. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2022 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK493175/

Lockhart, Lisa. (2020). Strategies to reduce nursing turnover, Nursing Made Incredibly Easy: March/April Volume 18 – Issue 2 – p 56 Doi: 10.1097/01.NME.0000653196.16629.2e

Mayer, M. A., Rodríguez Blanco, O., & Torrejon, A. (2019). Use of Health Apps by Nurses for Professional Purposes: Web-Based Survey Study. JMIR MHealth and UHealth, 7(11), e15195. https://doi.org/10.2196/15195

Moore P. (2000). Perspectives. How can we help to alleviate the nursing shortage? ONS News, 15(5), 14.

In the world today technology is inevitable in all industry sectors. Health care is not an exception. There is an added cost in trying to make technology secure. There are however other costs that are challenging to the health care system and one such cost will be addressed in this discussion.

Significant Challenge to Containing Health Care Costs.

The cost of health care in the United States can be attributed to many reasons. A glimpse of the cost is mentioned as a summation of over four million dollars in the year 2020 alone (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, 2021). Unnecessary emergency room (ER) visits in United States is one of the challenges that make containing health care costs a hard task. According to Rubin, (2021), in the year 2017 alone there were over one hundred and forty-four million ER visits that costed over seventy-six billion. This statistic is alarming.

 Health care cost reduction can be achieved by eliminating of unnecessary ER visits (Walden University, Producer (2011).  The root cause of these visits can be attributed to numerous factors including underpaying health care providers who opt to send their patients to ER instead of taking care of them in an outpatient clinic.

Cost containment is therefore easier said than done because to reduce ER visits means to have an effective system of health care delivery. One way this would be achievable would be to manage chronic conditions like hypoglycemia without involving ER visit.  Knowing how expensive going to the ER can be has led to different interventions being put in place to reduce these visits.

According to Lyons, Olson, Palmer, Horwitz, Mandl & Fine  (2017), those who frequent the ER can be identified but unfortunately there are those who use multiple ERs. These patients who visit different ERs may lead to duplicative and unnecessary care.

Policy Makers Envision of Technology

Technology has made it possible for clinicians to access health information from different sources. In the ERs clinicians sometimes have to make quick decisions and with technology it would be possible to have knowledge regarding previous care. Simple information like allergies would be accessible to clinicians. Having history and physical information in a data base that would be accessed at the ER would make the visit less time consuming.

According to Ojetti, Covino, Brigida, Petruzziello, Saviano, Migneco, Candelli & Franceschi (2020), sometimes the ER is is viewed by patients as a place to have solutions to health care problems. With technology, the ER clinicians can determine after having access of health care information if a patient needs to be triaged to the next level of care or needs to be discharged.

One Example

One example of use of technology is one that is required in the state of Maryland. Chesapeake Regional Information System for our Patients (CRISP). This is the state of Maryland designated health information exchange. As a provider especially in the ER one has to log in to CRISP and is able to see all the scheduled medications that the patient is taking, the last refill, the provider who wrote the prescription and the pharmacy that the medications were filled.

This information is critical because there are some patients who visit the ER expecting to be given narcotics when they already have current supply for a month.

Agree or Disagree with the Policy Makers.

The long term effect of using technology remains positive from the point of view of the provider. It is therefore fair to be agreeable with the stakeholders. According to Fereydon, Roghayeh, Ahmad & Mohsen (2020), technology has the ability of having a positive impact in health care improvement in regards to quality, safety, and efficiency.

It is however important to acknowledge there would be a cost related to training and implementing and sustaining technology. However, in the ER technology offers critical information for patients that is urgently needed to aid in treatment modalities. This information sharing saves time which in turn saves the cost of treatment.

References

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (December, 2021). National Expenditure Data https://www.cms.gov/Research-Statistics-Data-and-Systems/Statistics-Trends-and-Reports/NationalHealthExpendData/NationalHealthAccountsHistorical

Fereydon ,E., Roghayeh, S., Ahmad, J., & Mohsen, S. (2020). The Use of Health Information Technology by Nurses in Healthcare. Preventive Care in Nursing and Midwifery Journal, 9(1), 36–39.

Lyons, T. W., Olson, K. L., Palmer, N. P., Horwitz, R., Mandl, K. D., & Fine, A. M. (2017). Patients Visiting Multiple Emergency Departments: Patterns, Costs, and Risk Factors. Academic Emergency Medicine, 24(11), 1349–1357. https://doi.org/10.1111/acem.13304

Ojetti, V., Covino, M., Brigida, M.,  Petruzziello, C., Saviano, A.,Migneco, A., Candelli, M & Franceschi, F. (2020). Non-COVID Diseases during the Pandemic: Where Have All Other Emergencies Gone? Medicina, 56(512), 512. https://doi.org/10.3390/medicina56100512

Rubin, R. (2021). The Costs of US Emergency Department Visits. JAMA, 325(4), 333. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2020.26936

Walden University, LLC. (Executive Producer). (2011). Healthcare policy and advocacy: Cost containment. Baltimore: Author.

An increase in costs always characterizes the provision of quality healthcare services in various healthcare institutions. As a result, clinical institutions across the globe continue to struggle to control their operating expenses. With the introduction of different healthcare services and the increase in the number of patients in clinical institutions, there has been constant pressure to contain healthcare costs.

As a result, hospital administrators have become acutely aware of the need to reduce operational expenses. Most healthcare systems are involved in the management of financial activities to enhance operational processes. Specifically, these institutions are always involved in managing costs to ensure that there is effective and efficient allocation to each department.

As a member of the committee involved in the cost containment measures within the healthcare institution, there is always the need to understand different ways of reducing operational expenses as well as increasing reimbursements to enhance operational processes. The purpose of this paper is to determine different cost-cutting strategies in healthcare institutions and how these strategies will benefit patient care and the business system.

Cost-Cutting Strategies

One of the main cost-cutting strategies in the healthcare system is the close examination of appropriate labor use in different scenarios. For instance, an organization may decide to use physician assistants or nurse practitioners instead of physicians or doctors in the clinic to reduce costs associated with salaries (Leung et al., 2020).

In most cases, fully qualified doctors and physicians with experience may draw in more salaries and allowances, which may prove too expensive for the healthcare organization. Physician extenders can undertake different healthcare services at much lower costs, particularly in cases where medical doctors are not warranted.

Physician extenders can be assigned to duties involving patients with minor healthcare issues. However, there is the need to consider some few physicians and doctors with elaborate experience to provide guidance and enhance quality healthcare delivery.

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Re-evaluating supply costs for the hidden savings is another cost-cutting strategy that can be used to reduce expenses incurred by the organization (Couto et al., 2017). For example, an organization may negotiate with the suppliers to lower the costs of pharmaceutical products as well as other prices for surgical implants.

Also, the healthcare management can decide to lower the thresholds for which blood is given in an attempt to initiate cost reductions. Identification of essential procedures to perform is another cost reduction strategy that can be used in the healthcare system.  For instance, undertaking duplicate, repetitive, or daily radiology or laboratory testing can prove to be costly. To cut on these medical costs, there is the need for the management to consider ordering multiple-day orders for a single session.

To ensure that healthcare institution is operating at a minimum cost, there is the need to determine if the historical processes are obsolete; there is the need for the management to evaluate different processes and determine the outdated ones that no longer serve the intended purpose. Finally, the adoption of technology platforms, especially for the payers, significantly reduces costs for providing healthcare services.

How the Cuts Will Benefit Patient Care or the Business Systems

The reduction in the operational expenses will save costs which can then be applied in improving service delivery and the general quality healthcare delivery. In most cases, healthcare institutions struggle to formulate a comprehensive budget due to a lack of enough financial income. Therefore, through cost-saving measures, an organization is able to accumulate enough revenues for an effective budgeting process (Birch et al., 2019).

The cuts enhance the setting of competitive prices of healthcare services offered by a given institution. Reduction in the operational expenses often causes a definite increase in the operational margins. The savings resulting from the reduction in the operational expenses can be passed to the healthcare consumers in the form of lower prices for more quality healthcare services.

How to Increase Revenue or Reimbursement

Increasing revenues and reimbursement is one of the major objectives of any business. Equally, healthcare institutions often operate towards increasing their revenues and reimbursements. One of the ways of increasing revenues is boosting patient satisfaction through the provision of quality healthcare services.

With patient’s satisfaction, there is a high possibility that a healthcare institution will attract more clients, hence high revenues (Mendoza, 2020). Reduction in the patient’s readmission through the elimination of healthcare-acquired infections and the provision of quality services can greatly increase revenues and reimbursements from insurance companies.

Understanding revenue cycle performance is necessary for identifying opportunities for saving costs and increase revenues for effective budgeting and operational processes. Incorporation of technology in the operational process is another way of increasing revenues.

With technology, there will be faster and efficient delivery of healthcare services, a scenario that will ensure that more patients are cared for, enhancing revenue generation. Finally, the use of extenders is another way of increasing revenues for healthcare institutions. With physicians and other medical extenders, healthcare institutions will be able to reduce spending and increase revenues earned.    

How These Revenue or Reimbursement Systems Benefit

Patient Care or the Business Systems

An increase in revenues is essential for the budgeting process in a healthcare institution. With more revenues, there is always high chances of improving the quality of services and enhancing general service delivery to the patients. Boosting patient satisfaction is one of the cheapest and more reliable ways to improve the general image of an organization. In other words, with the enhancement of customer satisfaction, an organization tends to benefit twice. The five revenue generation strategies are critical for the general improvement in the operational processes.   

Conclusion

Healthcare institutions that engage in the control of operational expenses often have a greater chance of success than those who do not engage in such activities. Increasing revenues and reimbursement is one of the major objectives of any business. Equally, healthcare institutions often operate towards increasing their revenues and reimbursements. The reduction in the operational expenses will save costs which can then be applied in improving service delivery and the general quality healthcare delivery.

References

Birch, S., Murphy, G. T., MacKenzie, A., & Cumming, J. (2019). In place of fear: aligning health care planning with system objectives to achieve financial sustainability. Journal of health services research & policy, 20(2), 109-114. https://doi.org/10.1177/1355819614562053Article information

Couto, V., Plansky, J., & Caglar, D. (2017). Fit for Growth: A guide to strategic cost-cutting, restructuring, and renewal. John Wiley & Sons.

Leung, P. P., Wu, C. H., Kwong, C. K., & Ching, W. K. (2020). Nursing shortage in the public healthcare system: an exploratory study of Hong Kong. Enterprise Information Systems, 14(7), 913-931. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17517575.2019.1569264

Mendoza, R. L. (2020). Cost-Shifting and Cost-Cutting as Joint and Mutually Reinforcing Strategies in the Financial Management of Hospitals and Similar Healthcare Organizations. Journal of Health Care Finance. http://healthfinancejournal.com/~junland/index.php/johcf/article/view/226

In response to continually rising health care costs, the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) provision was created to promote the meaningful use of health care information technology through numerous incentive programs for health care providers. By enhancing data collection, streamlining electronic medical records, and increasing transparency, it is believed that significant cost savings can be realized as well as other positive outcomes. What are some of the tradeoffs involved in this type of policy?

To prepare:

• Reflect on the challenges of containing health care costs in the U.S. presented in the Learning Resources and discussed by Dr. Kominski and Dr. Zelman in the media.
• Consider how information technology may be used to address health care issues related to cost.
• Examine the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) provision and its goals.

By Day 3

Post a cohesive response that addresses the following:

• Briefly summarize a significant challenge to containing health care costs.
• How do policy makers envision technology could be utilized to address this challenge (above)? Provide at least one example to support your response.
• Do you agree or disagree with the policy makers? Describe why you agree or disagree and include one or more insights from this analysis that relate to the question of how information technology could, or could not, help contain costs while supporting health care reform initiatives.

Read a selection of your colleagues’ postings.

By Day 6

Respond to at least two of your colleagues in one or more of the following ways:

• Ask a probing question, substantiated with additional background information, evidence or research.
• Share an insight from having read your colleagues’ postings, synthesizing the information to provide new perspectives.
• Offer and support an alternative perspective using readings from the classroom or from your own research in the Walden Library.
• Validate an idea with your own experience and additional research.
• Make a suggestion based on additional evidence drawn from readings or after synthesizing multiple postings.
• Expand on your colleagues’ postings by providing additional insights or contrasting perspectives based on readings and evidence.

A significant challenge to containing health care costs is the price of the equipment and medications needed to diagnose and treat patients and the lack of adequate reimbursement. Bodenheimer and Grumbach (2020), speculate that “the price of prescription drugs in the United States is 50% higher than that in other countries” (p. 94).

IN my world the charge for delivering a baby is around $7,500.00. Private insurance companies pay approximately 2/3 of the delivery fee compared to Medicaid covering on average about 20%. This is not sustainable if a hospital operates in a community with high Medicaid rates.

Additionally, the quality of health care is directly tied to reimbursement.  A hospital that operates with a low-profit margin makes cuts in staffing, replaces needed equipment, and struggles to attract physicians and care providers that provide high-quality care.

One way that Bodenheimer and Grumbach (2020), describe technology being utilized to decrease costs is a broader use of robotic surgeries. Gall bladder surgery, specifically described in the reading from this week can be performed in less time if robotics is us