To Outsource or Not to Outsource? Every Hospital’s Existential Dilemma
Why do physicians go into medicine? Probably not to spend only 27% of their time on direct patient care.
This lack of quality time with patients doesn’t just affect physicians — almost every clinician has to deal with non-clinical tasks that eat into their patient care time. Nurses get some of the biggest brunt. They often squander their time looking for misplaced equipment, cleaning, transporting, and doing other non-clinical tasks.
Why Outsource?
Many hospitals are turning to outsourced services — not just because it lightens clinicians’ loads, but also for the many other benefits it provides.
Outsourcing non-clinical tasks means that clinicians have more time to focus on providing patient care, which can reduce burnout. Translation: Increased safety, greater quality of care, improved patient outcomes.
But what kind of services should you consider outsourcing?
Food Services
Outsourcing food services can potentially save a hospital $1 million per year in operating efficiencies. Outsourced partners are leaders in food delivery innovation — and innovations like room service-style dining improve patients’ nutritional intake.
Hospitals using Sodexo’s WasteWatch powered by Leanpath program, on average, prevent 50% of food waste.
Nutrition Services
When hospitals who outsource with Sodexo use the telenutrition program, they see an average show rate of 71%, compared to average in-person show rate of 61% (at their location). They also see an average return visit rate of 54%, compared to average in-person return rate of 28% (at their location).
Laundry and Linen Services
You can cut back on spending — laundry and linen services eat up about 2% to 3% of your budget, at an average annual spend of nearly $2.5 million.
Patient Transport
A hospital can save $10 per trip by having outsourced transporters move patients or items, rather than nurses. They can also reduce patient wait time by up to 20%.
Facilities Management
Hospitals who outsource facilities management see:
- Energy savings up to 10%
- Equipment and asset life extended by as much as 50%
- Construction projects delivered at or below budget, and on or before the guaranteed completion date.
One for All and All for One
If you’re ready to outsource, your best bet is to hire one service organization that manages it all. You get one supplier for all of your needs, including biomedical services, capital planning, and equipment tracking and distribution.
You also get a capped cost without budget overruns and with predictable budgets — and most of all, consistency — all employees have gone through the same training program.
