How Hospital CEOs Can Tackle Their Biggest Challenges Using Analytics

As the healthcare landscape is swiftly changing, hospital CEOs face an array of operational, financial, and clinical challenges. The recently published American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) annual survey polled community hospital CEOs asking them to rank 11 critical issues in order of their level of concern. The table below depicts the average ranking of the most pressing issues, with a comparison over time and lower numbers indicating a higher level of concern. The results indicate that workforce concerns, financial matters, and behavioral health challenges rose to the top as the most pressing issues for hospital CEOs.

As these issues are top-of-mind for hospital leadership, impacting key performance outcomes, there is a critical need for impactful solutions. As data and analytics reach across a hospital enterprise, leveraging these tools presents a practical solution to address some of the biggest challenges in healthcare. Collecting and disseminating key business insights can prove incredibly valuable to healthcare organizations looking to tackle challenges. Read further to learn more about how data can solve some of the most important issues in healthcare.

Workforce Challenges

With increasing demands on the healthcare system in recent years, hospitals face an intensified need for additional staff. The World Health Organization estimates a “projected shortfall of 10 million health workers by 2030.” The ACHE survey results indicate that hospital CEOs reported a concerning shortage of registered nurses, medical and lab technicians, and therapists. These shortages can seriously impact the quality of patient care and clinical outcomes.

To mitigate this mismatch in workforce supply and demand, hospitals must strategically collect and analyze staffing data trends, such as:

Dimensional Insight’s platform allows for intuitive analysis and reporting of such data, enabling hospital leadership to fulfill staffing requirements. Dimensional Insight’s executive dashboard features up-to-date metrics in one user-friendly view. Bringing disparate data sources on staffing into one consolidated view can help executives track and act on workforce trends.

Due to staffing shortages, existing workers face undue pressure and increased workloads. In the ACHE survey, 79% of hospital CEOs reported staff burnout as a serious challenge affecting the healthcare workforce. Providing staff with one streamlined platform that reports key clinical measures can increase efficiency and reduce unnecessary workload. Dimensional Insight’s tools can quickly extract and translate EHR data, saving valuable time and reducing administrative burdens for busy clinicians. Hospitals using Dimensional Insight’s platform have reported a 20% reduction in admin FTE. When staff are provided with effective tools to measure clinical trends, their jobs become easier thus reducing potential burnout. Additionally, leaders can examine data trends to identify high-traffic, high-stress areas of the hospital and provide extra well-being support to the staff in those departments.

Financial Concerns

The COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on the economy was far-reaching—severely impacting hospital finances. The most recent report from the American Hospital Association shows that hospitals were likely to lose billions of dollars in 2022. ACHE’s Annual Survey revealed that hospital CEOs are primarily concerned with increasing costs for staff and supplies, reducing operating costs, and Medicaid reimbursement. Although financial challenges ranked second on the survey this year, they have been the most troubling matter for hospitals for 16 consecutive years. While still trying to maintain clinical quality and patient safety, some hospitals have been forced to make financial cuts to keep up with increasing costs. As hospitals seek ways to maximize value and reduce costs, monitoring and reporting on financial KPIs will be imperative.

Hospitals’ current financial reporting systems have limitations, and EHRs are also restricted in the financial information they can collect. Read below for some action steps hospitals can take to maximize fiscal outcomes:

Dimensional Insight’s solutions have helped hospitals to increase revenue by 34% and reach a $2.5 million positive revenue swing in value-based payments. By accessing timely and easily accessible information, hospital executives can make informed decisions that improve financial results.

Behavioral Health and Addiction Issues

As the need for mental health services has risen over the past few years, hospitals have struggled to keep up with the demand. 83% of respondents in the ACHE annual survey reported a lack of appropriate facilities or programs to support their behavioral health population. Additionally, lack of funding and insufficient reimbursement for behavioral health and addiction was a leading concern.

While most behavioral health data is currently collected in electronic health records (EHR) systems, the data is often siloed and doesn’t provide actionable insights. Read further to learn how hospitals can leverage EHR data to implement actionable change in behavioral healthcare:

Dimensional Insight’s platform collects and reports on behavioral health population data in an easy-to-use application. Tracking trends in behavioral health admissions can help hospitals forecast future needs for beds and available mental health clinicians. For instance, researchers at UConn Health Services (UCHS) recently implemented an analytics prediction model that uses HER data to compile patient risk factors for suicidality. By seamlessly integrating with UCHS’ EHR, Dimensional Insight’s analytics solutions transform raw clinical data into useful information to identify patient suicide risk. This predictive analytical modeling enables clinicians to proactively identify patients at high risk and to monitor at-risk patients between encounters. It is evident that leveraging data can empower hospitals to optimize workflows and create effective care plans for mental health populations.

Why Dimensional Insight?

With industry-specific expertise in the healthcare field, Dimensional Insight understands the needs and goals of healthcare professionals and leaders. As a company that truly understands the unique challenges in the healthcare industry, we help hospitals use their data in the most impactful way. We partner with hospitals and healthcare organizations to improve upon their KPIs in the following ways:

Conclusion

With an ever-evolving healthcare landscape, hospital executives continue to face unprecedented challenges. To best address these issues, it is critical for hospital leaders to leverage tools that systematically collect and report on key business insights.

By utilizing data trends and advanced reporting, hospitals can gain a wider perspective on their operational trends. Additionally, using a strong analytics platform can support hospital leadership in developing KPIs and measuring progress over time.

Access to timely, accurate data on the organization’s operational, financial, and clinical trends empowers hospital leadership to make informed decisions.

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