How Should You Choose The Right Hospital Staffing Solution?

How Should You Choose The Right Hospital Staffing Solution?

Hospitals are striving to simplify and automate their business processes with software applications as healthcare reform approaches. However, the challenge lies in selecting the right software solution from the overwhelming number of options available.

Many healthcare software solutions are not designed with hospitals in mind; they are developed primarily to generate revenue. Some hospital software vendors lack an understanding of how hospitals operate. They have merely identified an industry undergoing significant change and developed software applications to take advantage of the opportunity.

On the other hand, there are industry insiders who possess a detailed understanding of hospital operations and have created software solutions that streamline routine tasks. The key to choosing the right software is to eliminate unreliable players and find a vendor that offers genuine solutions.

Why should you consider hospital staffing software?

According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, there is projected to be a shortage of 46,900 to 121,900 physicians by 2032. Additionally, the American Journal of Medical Quality estimates that 154,018 nursing positions will remain unfilled by 2025.

If healthcare facilities lack sufficient medical staff to perform essential services, such as surgeries and physicals, it can result in financial losses. Furthermore, increased mortality rates, hospital readmissions, and employee burnout can also have significant impacts on a hospital's financial well-being.

As the shortage of healthcare professionals looms, hospitals and doctor's offices will need to hire temporary physicians, nurses, and other personnel to fill crucial roles. To do so in a cost-effective manner, these facilities can utilize healthcare staffing software.

Healthcare staffing software simplifies order entry, facilitates the submission of requisitions to multiple vendors, enables the review of candidate submissions and credentials, eliminates the need for paper timesheets, consolidates billing invoices and payment services, and provides access to real-time reports. Additionally, its implementation frees up internal staff to focus on other important tasks. The system's electronic credentialing alerts make it easy to stay compliant and avoid costly errors.

One major advantage of this healthcare staffing software is its flexibility. It allows hospitals to find the necessary capabilities during surges and times of crisis. Not only can this solution assist in sourcing the required clinical skills from across the country, but it can also streamline the onboarding and management process for that talent and ensure accurate and timely billing rates.

The Principles for Choosing Hospital Software Solutions

1. Form a cross-functional team. When selecting hospital software solutions, it is important to involve a team that represents different departments and functions. While IT can provide guidance, the ultimate decision-makers should be the individuals who will be using the software on a daily basis.

2. Conduct a needs assessment. Begin by analyzing the current business processes that will be impacted by the new software. Identify areas where automation can improve efficiency. Additionally, outline the specific reporting and analytics requirements for the new system.

3. Evaluate software vendors. Research and shortlist potential hospital software providers that align with your needs assessment. Request demonstrations from the selected vendors to evaluate their capabilities. Create scenarios or use cases that reflect your requirements and have the vendors run them through their software. Narrow down the list to the top two or three vendors.

4. Seek references. Contact references provided by the vendors to gain insights from actual system users. If possible, arrange site visits to hospitals in your area that are already using the software.

5. Choose the best-fit software. If one vendor clearly stands out in terms of meeting your needs and budget, the decision becomes straightforward. However, if multiple vendors offer similar functionality and cost, consider arranging detailed presentations with use cases relevant to your organization.

6. Negotiate the contract. Pricing should have already been discussed, but be cautious of any hidden fees. Pay attention to the following key areas in the software contract:

  1. Software - pricing and performance
  2. Hardware - determine if any upgrades are needed
  3. Implementation - clarify the scope and timeline for software implementation
  4. Training - Understand the details of initial training and ongoing support
  5. System Maintenance - clarify who will be responsible for software maintenance
  6. Customer Support - Ensure that 24/7 support is provided

Why Should You Choose Vemsta?

In today's digital age, there is no shortage of software solutions for various business processes. However, not all software is created equal. At Vemsta, we have developed a hospital staffing solution that streamlines the hiring process by providing affordable and high-quality talent. Reach out to us right away to learn more about our staffing solution.


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