Dr. Kunnes defines resources as all hospital-related expenses other than direct wages. Resource use management is a way hospitals can grow their operating margin without laying off employees. “The opportunities for resource utilization savings are far greater than all other opportunities for savings that hospitals routinely look at,” Dr. Kunnes says. Managing resources does not involve discounts or capitation, but instead determines what resources hospitals are using that they don’t have to. According to Dr. Kunnes, if hospitals use proven-in-practice solutions, they can achieve a minimum 7:1 return on investment. The following are six steps hospital leaders can follow to reach savings through resource use management.
Resource use management process
1. Internet-based assessment. Dr. Kunnes recommends hospitals develop an internet-based assessment for staff and management to determine where the opportunities for savings are.
2. Leadership. Dr. Kunnes suggests appointing two to three executive champions to lead resource use management initiatives. “Consider incentivizing employees who do produce savings and create a culture where savings is everyone’s business,” he says.
3. Proven-in-practice solutions. Once the opportunities for savings are identified, hospitals should look to proven-in-practice solutions — solutions that have been shown to produce savings in other hospitals — to improve the operating margin. Examples include the following:
• Use thumb pressure instead of femoral closure devices.
• Acquire a shoe cover vending machine and charge physicians and nurses instead of the hospital buying shoe covers.
• Eliminate thigh-high compression devices.
• Use whole milk instead of barium sulfate for barium swallows.
4. Sequencing. Hospitals need to decide what order to implement the solutions to “maximize the solution savings magnitude as quickly as possible,” Dr. Kunnes says.
5. Customization. Hospitals may need to tailor solutions to fit their particular needs. For example, hospitals may need to make smaller, short-term goals in order to reach the larger, long-term goals described in a solution.
6. Implementation. Hospitals do not need 100-percent support from physicians and staff for every solution identified. Just working to gain some support will produce significant savings. “Use what you have to get what you need and move forward in terms of emphasizing some savings as opposed to all savings that hypothetically might be possible,” Dr. Kunnes says.
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