Many health systems today struggle with the hidden costs of siloed operations and decentralized spending. Yet, breaking down silos in healthcare can lead to better decision-making, tighter budget oversight, and a reduction in unnecessary spending.
In 2024, as many as 40% of hospitals were operating at a loss, according to Kaufman Hall, and the gap between the most and least profitable providers continues to widen. These hospitals often deal with outdated infrastructure, which increases maintenance costs and hinders efficient operations. Additionally, they face staffing shortages and increased labor costs, making it difficult to provide quality care. Declining patient volumes due to competition and reimbursement challenges from insurers exacerbate their financial strain.
The healthcare system is burdened with hidden costs for stakeholders at every level. Some of these costs are a mere nuisance, while others pose serious consequences. Among the most critical is the hidden cost of employing undereducated staff in critical positions, which can compromise patient safety and escalate the risk of errors in diagnosis, treatment, and medication administration. These mistakes can lead to prolonged hospital stays, increased medical complications, and even preventable deaths.
As health systems face increasing financial pressure with inflation following the COVID-19 pandemic, rising operational costs, continued labor shortages, supply chain disruptions and stock market fluctuations have combined to undermine financial stability. Many health systems are struggling to offset shrinking margins.
How to Start Budget Planning Creating and following a budget is the reality for any organization. With a need for continued education in the healthcare industry, managing a budget for education, along with all other organizational needs, is extremely complicated. There are many ways to start budget planning. Below are two of the most popular…
What is Continuing Education (CE) When medical professionals graduate and enter their field, some may think that they are finished with their education. In fact, it is actually the beginning of the educational journey. Continuing education is vital for healthcare professionals with the constantly changing technologies in the medical field. Continuing education keeps staff up-to-date and improves patient care….
Medical librarians help health systems improve patient outcomes by providing access to focused, reliable information that supports the implementation of practical care.
What are Medical Librarians Medical librarians streamline healthcare education and have a massive, eventual impact on patient care. Medical librarians and medical libraries connect organizations with knowledge to drive outcome improvements. In today’s world, PubMed, Google, and other internet search engines, make it easy to find answers to any question you can think of, but accessing…
