Did you know that medical contract staffing can boost your revenue?
Healthcare is one industry where you can’t afford to be short-staffed. The demand is constant even during summer, which is when most people book their vacations. If you run a healthcare facility, a medical staffing agency can not only provide the personnel needed to fill vacation-related gaps, but also boost your revenue.
Hospitals and clinics stay in operation by delivering the widest possible range of services. Being short-staffed can result in service interruption, extended wait times and, by extension, loss of reputation or revenue. In this blog, we highlight how turning to medical contract staffing as a solution can help prevent these outcomes and even grow the practice.
Medical Contract Staffing Can Overcome Staff Shortage Issues
A recent study by workforce solutions firm Mercer found that by 2025, demand for healthcare service providers in North America is likely to surpass supply. Reasons include:
- Aging population (by 2032, the number of people aged 65 and up is projected to increase by 45%)
- Higher instances of chronic disease
This means that even a routine vacation can leave your remaining medical care staff working longer hours and handling a heavier workload. During periods of extended absence, such as maternity leave, burnout and departure become real possibilities that can cost you: replacing a healthcare employee can cost an average of 33% of the person’s salary and have a negative impact on staff morale. For Canadian hospitals, the average rate of turnover is 19.9%, which is a major problem.
With medical contract staffing, you can cover scheduled absences with skilled and experienced personnel instead of burdening your existing team. When they’re not under so much pressure, your employees will feel more productive and satisfied with their jobs and be less inclined to leave. Since retaining existing staff is much less expensive than hiring and training new people, you’ll save a lot of money.
You Save Money on Staffing Costs
Temporary physiotherapists, sonographers, and other personnel are a cost-effective resource for replacing employers who go on vacation, sabbatical, maternity leave, or family leave. Although the compensation is competitive, you don’t have to provide company-paid health insurance or other benefits offered to regular employees. Benefits can add anywhere from 30 to 50% to your payroll costs, which adds up to a lot of money.
By engaging workers on a locum basis through a medical staffing agency, your facility provides necessary coverage without taking a large hit to its revenue stream.
Save Money By Reducing Overtime
When you rely on existing staff to cover absences, they’ll typically be working longer hours, which can add up to expensive overtime. When you use locum healthcare professionals to ensure that schedules are covered, you can cut your labour costs by as much as 25%. In a busy hospital or clinic, that can translate to significant savings.
Closing Skills Gaps Can Increase Revenue
Many travel healthcare providers specialize in services that your facility may not currently offer. For example, the travel physiotherapist you hire to work with post-surgery patients may also be qualified to treat children. If they’re on a longer-term contract, expanding your facility’s offers to include pediatric physiotherapy could create a new source of revenue- one that you can maintain after the contract ends by hiring qualified staff. This advantage also applies to other areas, such as medical imaging and lab work.
Medical Contract Staffing Makes It Easier to Scale Your Clinic
If you’ve recently opened your clinic, you may not have a solid idea of workload and demand until you’ve been operating for a while. Engaging contract staff to support your core team is a low-risk and lower-cost means of accommodating growth until you know for sure that demand is high enough to support your permanent employees.
Patient and Client Retention Can Be Higher
Healthcare facilities aren’t the only ones that benefit from a smooth and uninterrupted workflow. Patients and clients also have a better experience when the location is not understaffed. When employees work excessive hours, morale can take a dive and they don’t deliver the expected quality of care.
Overwork can also increase the possibility of mistakes being made, which can be disastrous for hospitals and clinics as well as patients. Having a full complement of care providers whenever needed can encourage repeat appointments as well as prevent errors that may lead to injury for either patient or your staff.
Medical Contract Staffing Can Improve Workplace Flexibility
In the healthcare industry, flexible working hours are becoming more popular. It offers many benefits, including allowing employees to maintain a better work-life balance, reducing the risk of burnout, and even enhancing the appeal of your job advertisements. The problem is that this can easily get out of hand – covering 24/7 working hours and multiple shifts is no easy task, making flexible hours difficult if not impossible to accommodate.
A medical staffing agency can provide locum personnel to cover times when your employees want the most flexibility (typically during summer and the December holidays). These professionals can also step in if someone is off ill for a long period of time or needs time off to deal with a personal situation. By offering this degree of flexibility, you’re in the best position to attract top talent who can make your facility’s bottom line even stronger.
Questions About Medical Contract Staffing? Talk to a Medical Staffing Agency You Can Trust!
The demand for healthcare services is ever-increasing, and staying on top of that need without compromising your employees is key to steady revenue. At ProMed HR Solutions, we can provide your hospital or clinic with experienced and pre-vetted professionals in the categories like the following:
- Ultrasound Technologists
- MRI Technologists
- Echo Technologists
- Nuclear Medicine Technologists
- CT Technologists
- Rehabilitation Assistants
- X-Ray Technologists
- CLXT Technologists
- Laboratory Technologists
- Physiotherapists
- Physiotherapist Assistants
Our skilled medical technologists can cover vacations, personal leave, and other types of extended absences, so that your facility maintains both capacity and profitability. To learn more about what ProMed HR Solutions can do for you, visit us at www.promedhr.ca or call us today at 1-833-776-6336.
