From the July 2016 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine

As I look at imaging and the challenges brought on by the new world order of health care I see an increased demand for improving quality and patient satisfaction while continuing to reduce expenses to offset cuts in reimbursement. What keeps me up at night can be broken down into three categories: people, productivity and regulation. These are the major challenges facing imaging leaders as we move forward in the ever-changing world of health care.

People
Finding the right people, training them, helping them embrace the culture of the organization, having them buy into the system and see how their actions tie into its overall success, and retaining them are key to reaching the goals of the organization as a whole and the department specifically. People are your No. 1 asset that could easily turn into your No. 1 liability if you don’t take care of them and their needs (professionally and personally). Having the right blend of staff who understand the overall goals of the organization as well as having all the right technical skills to meet the needs of the patients and physicians is key to success.
Unfortunately, it is becoming harder to tie the productivity piece with the goals of good patient care and increased customer satisfaction. Staff is getting tired and burned out and our No. 1 job is working with them to have them better understand what the future holds and how they are a part of getting the organization there. Techs have choices these days and our hardest and most critical role is to keep good people engaged and on board with what we are trying to accomplish.

Productivity
With decreasing reimbursement and the need to streamline operations to ensure financial stability, productivity targets, and meeting those targets, have become a major focus for the majority of health care organizations. Although productivity targets are not a new concept and have been a focal point for a number of the for-profit organizations across the country, there is now a renewed focus on hitting and maintaining benchmarked productivity numbers to ensure that organizations remain fiscally sustainable. This new focus has taken its toll on both staff and management alike. With a new focus there comes new stress on meeting and beating those targets. Staff who are used to working their normal schedules are now having to reduce hours and flex off when volumes do not support them being there.

Staffing is based on volume and where in the past we had some flexibility with additional hours to compensate for vacation and for staff to participate in other activities, now with every hour measured it has become a numbers game that we are held accountable for. Not being at 100 percent productivity could delay or even prevent replacement staff from being hired, which drives up overtime, staff and patient frustration, and ultimately negatively impacts satisfaction scores for both staff and patients which will ultimately impact reimbursement and turnover. To survive in the new health care environment, we will need to find a balance between the productivity number and providing good patient care while preventing staff burnout.

July 2016 Magazine

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