LABOR MANAGEMENT TRENDS A survey of provider executives about labor budgets, staffing shortages, and operating expenses August 2018 Lead. Solve. Grow.
Summary 1 2 3 4 5 Overview Budgets Change in Staffing Shortages Reducing Operating Expenses Labor Management Initiatives 2 Labor Management Trends August 2018
Overview According to a Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA)/Navigant survey of 101 CFOs and operations executives, over the next 12 months: Execs are predicting labor budget increases and continued shortages of physicians, nurses, and mental health providers. Leadership is targeting labor costs and supply chain productivity improvements to reduce hospital operating expense. 3 Labor Management Trends August 2018
Labor Budget Growth How is your organization's labor budget projected to change in the next 12 months? 70% 60% 50% 60% 78% INCREASING 18% by more than 5% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% 0% Decreasing >5.1% 14% Decreasing 0.1% - 5% 8% No Change Increasing 0.1% - 5% 14% Increasing 5.1% - 10% 4% Increasing >10% 14% DECREASING none more than 5% *Survey of 101 chief financial officers, administration, and operations executives 4 Labor Management Trends August 2018
Staffing Shortage Volatility Nurses & Physicians Which choices best describe your current staffing shortage situations, compared to last year? 90% 80% 70% 60% 55% Nurse, physician shortages represent largest increases, reductions Physicians 35% say worse, 20% better Nurses 43% say worse, 27% better 64% 60% 60% 64% 74% 80% 70% 50% 45% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% 30% 37% 30% 30% 23% 21% 20% 17% 18% 18% 15% 14% 9% 10% 5% 6% 4% 5% 4% 1% 3% 2% 3% 2% 2% 3% 2% Mental health providers Nurses Physicians Laboratory experts Care/Case managers IT-related experts Coding / Revenue cycle experts 15% 13% 11% 12% 10% 8% 8% 5% 4% 4% 0% 1% 0% 0% Imaging experts Pharmacists Support services Significantly Worse Somewhat Worse Unchanged Somewhat Better Significantly Better *Survey of 101 chief financial officers, administration, and operations executives 5 Labor Management Trends August 2018
Staffing Shortage Volatility Mental Health Providers Staffing Shortages Compared to Last Year Relative View Support services Pharmacists Imaging experts Mental health provider shortages may represent direst situation 35% say worse, just 10% better Coding/Revenue cycle experts IT-related experts Care/Case managers Laboratory experts Physicians Nurses Mental health providers Net Negative No Change Net Positive (Better) *Survey of 101 chief financial officers, administration, and operations executives 6 Labor Management Trends August 2018
Operating Expense Reduction Targets What is your top priority area for reducing operating expenses over the next year? 50% 45% 44% 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% 7% Other 3% Corporate services 9% Clinical variation 17% Supply chain 21% Purchased services Labor expense Labor costs, supply chain, and purchased services represent the top priority areas *Survey of 101 chief financial officers, administration, and operations executives 7 Labor Management Trends August 2018
Most Important Labor Management Initiatives Rank the labor management initiatives your organization will focus on for improvement over the next 12 months. 6.0 5.5 5.0 4.5 4.0 3.5 3.0 2.5 2.0 1.5 1.0 4.16 Productivity improvement 3.76 Workflow redesign 8 Labor Management Trends August 2018 3.44 3.44 3.31 3.15 Reducing skilled staffing shortages Leadership development Premium pay reduction Centralized services *Survey of 101 chief financial officers, administration, and operations executives. Respondents selected top 3 initiatives in order. First choice assigned a value of 5, second a value of 4, third a value of 3, and unselected choices a value of 1. Execs rank productivity improvement and workflow redesign as the main labor management improvement initiatives
The need to more effectively manage labor by staffing to demand will only intensify as operating margins continue to diminish, and as the pressure to enhance care quality and efficiency increases. These results magnify the need for provider leadership to objectively analyze their current practices to better staff departments and meet dynamic patient volumes. Danielle Dyer, Managing Director, Navigant 9 Labor Management Trends August 2018
It s not surprising that labor expense and efficiency continue to be top of mind for CFOs. However, the survey highlights the need for innovation in terms of transforming the cost structure of care delivery. This is a complex challenge that requires a multidisciplinary approach to support high-quality patient care and financial sustainability. Chuck Alsdurf, CPA, HFMA 10 Labor Management Trends August 2018
Staffing shortages are placing hospital leadership in a paradoxical situation, both due to the economic theory of supply and demand and the tendency to maintain surplus with shortages looming. As a result, reducing labor costs has become even more difficult. Leveraging predictive analytics, proactively matching staffing to patient care demand, and more efficient workflows can help providers address these challenges. Vamshi Gunukula, Director, Navigant 11 Labor Management Trends August 2018
About Navigant Navigant Consulting, Inc. (NYSE: NCI) is a specialized, global professional services firm focused on markets and clients facing transformational change and significant regulatory or legal pressures, primarily in the energy, financial services, and healthcare industries. Navigant s Healthcare practice is composed of more than 500 consultants, former provider administrators, clinicians, and other experts with decades of strategy, operational/clinical consulting, managed services, revenue cycle management, and outsourcing experience. Experts collaborate with hospitals and health systems, physician enterprises, payers, and government entities, providing enterprisewide strategic development and performance-improvement solutions. More information about Navigant can be found at navigant.com. 12 Labor Management Trends August 2018