The Strategic Value of Outside Specialists

Do you find your organization as a whole spending too much time on relatively minor operational tasks – distracting you and staff from work that is critical to patient care? 

As U.S. healthcare providers strive to enhance patient safety and the quality of care, more and more are turning to outside specialists to manage certain administrative processes, not core to their mission.  According to Michael F. Corbett & Associates, a leading outsourcing expert, outsourcing introduces new ways of doing business, while allowing organizations to focus on their core mission and competencies.  Moreover, as documented in a PricewaterhouseCoopers study, outsourcing helps to reduce the total cost of ownership by eliminating the hidden costs of operating in-house departments, such as print and copy centers, maintenance, payroll and benefits administration.

With many health systems recognizing that outsourcing is more than a cost-cutting strategy, they are reevaluating which parts of their organization to outsource.  As a result, they're not only gaining efficiencies and access to better technology, but also improving their operating models.

The following highlights some of the benefits derived from farming out non-core functions:

New Perspectives and Expertise   Keeping pace with best practices, changing regulations and standards, and evolving technologies and methodologies is challenging.  Yet, it is essential to any healthcare organization looking to deliver quality care in the 21st century.

With the consultation and support of a qualified outside expert, you gain a fresh perspective on business processes and introduce a level of knowledge and experience that you simply don’t have the resources to develop or maintain in-house. 

Lower Costs  Economies of scale allow outside vendors to perform many administrative tasks far more efficiently than organizations could do themselves—and that translates into substantial savings.  For example, with document mismanagement claiming 12-15% of corporate revenue (Gartner Group), there is a significant opportunity to reduce costs.  By partnering with a full-service business process management provider with the specialized expertise and methodologies to streamline document workflow processes, you can uncover opportunities to free up space, people and assets—directly affecting your costs and enhancing your bottom line. 

More Time to Focus on Quality Care   What if all those hours you and your staff spend, week after week, on non-core administrative activities were devoted to your core mission?  Would you have greater opportunity to refine skill sets and make strides in enhancing the patient experience and the quality of care?   By outsourcing those business processes which don’t fall under your umbrella of expertise, you can take a more active role in what you do best, allowing you to work smarter—not harder. 

Streamline New Facility Openings   Expanding the scope of your services and making them more accessible to the community through the addition of new units and satellite facilities can create attractive revenue-generating opportunities.  However, the manpower and experience to successfully plan and open that new unit or facility may be in short supply. 

Orchestrating new signage, fixtures and furniture, new forms and supplies, marketing materials and everything in between is a multi-faceted challenge that can consume your workday. By delegating these responsibilities to an outsider provider with the program management skills and experience with managing people in a changing environment, you can reduce the headaches associated with opening a new facility, meet critical timelines and be assured you are presenting your best face to the community.

A Critical Partner Managing Non-Critical Operations
Now, more than ever, healthcare providers must balance the needs and expectations of their patients with changing regulatory requirements and business processes.  The right outsourcing partner will provide the world-class capabilities and access to new technology that most healthcare organizations could not afford to buy on their own.  By leveraging these resources, you can transform slow, cumbersome processes, keep pace with change and drive down the cost of delivering quality patient care. 

If you’d like information on the specific ways in which Standard Register can help you off-load non-core operational responsibilities, reduce costs and achieve efficiencies, contact us now.