Our First Blog Post - Welcome to Shift Covered

Introduction

As highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic, nurses and other healthcare professionals are critical to any healthcare system; not only as employees but as caregivers to our loved ones. Stagnant wages, rigid schedules and responsibility creep are driving HCPs to seek opportunities elsewhere. This in turn has created an over reliance on Staffing Agencies that are passed down to patients and their families. Leveraging modern technology a solution was developed aimed at increasing HCP satisfaction and decreasing the cost burden on the system.

The Problem

The Healthcare Industry has long been plagued with decreasing quality of patient care and out of control costs. While there are many factors that contribute to these issues, one of the most critical factors is labor. Nationwide labor shortages have come to cost healthcare providers billions of dollars annually. 

Why is this happening?

With greater focus being placed on mental health and wok-life balance, greater number of HCPs are searching for options with flexible scheduling and reduced stress. In addition, stagnant wages and high cost of living are driving HCPs to look for alternate employment. Most chose to leave the industry altogether, some transition to Staffing Agency employment; in either case healthcare facilities are left with a staffing gap.

Impact of Agencies

Staffing Agencies have taken advantage of this turmoil in the industry and positioned themselves in an area of influence greater than some healthcare facilities / networks. 

By offering flexible scheduling, higher wages and benefits agencies entice the HCPs away from their facilities. In addition the, typically, reduced scope of work for Agency Staff leads to lower stress and turnover. The out of scope responsibilities are then added to the HCO staff, in turn adding to the stress and creating a loop at the cost of HCOs. Agencies then become uniquely positioned to cover any staffing gaps HCOs may have, charging unprecedented mark-ups for services rendered reaching as high as 40% in some cases.

Impact on Patients

The high turnover in the industry leads to an overall decrease in skilled and experienced labor, which has a direct impact on patient care. With the temporary work place model used by staffing agencies, HCPs fail to form a bond with the patients in their care leading to increased dissatisfaction with HCO and provided level of care. The additional cost carried by HCO  reduces budgetary cannot be invested in key technological and infrastructural investments, leaving facilities vulnerable and patients with outdated standards of care.

The Approach

Welcome to Shift Covered! We have focused on leveraging technology to improve patient care while addressing the aforementioned concerns.

After conducting market research and in-depth reviews of the problem statement, we identified several key factors:

Flexibility - The solution must provide flexibility to both the HCPs and HCOs. HCPs must have the ability to schedule shifts at their own convenience. HCOs must have the ability to review and choose the applicants, as well as have the ability to offer shifts to “preferred” candidates 

Simplicity - The solution must be simple to use and have an intuitive UI. HCOs require a solution that is easy to implement and integrate with their current systems, and requires minimal training for support staff to be able to use intuitively.

Convenience - The solution must be a one-stop-shop for both HCPs and HCOs. Scheduling shifts, financial performance tracking, and compliance monitoring. Allowing both groups to quickly review their statuses and make informed decisions.

The Solution

The Shift Covered solution is a scheduling platform that provides direct access between HCOs and HCPs. Through our platform the HCPs and HCOs can work together to ensure staffing needs are met and patient care standards are maintained while operating costs are reduced. 

Flexibility - is achieved by enabling the direct communication between HCOs and HCPs. HCOs can build out their network of trusted HCPs through position posting on the platform. The trusted HCPs would get priority placement posting review opportunities. HCPs, on the other hand, are able to browse through the local shifts in their area or preferred facility, building out their schedules as best suits their lives. Through this mutual partnership the patients will benefit from having consistent and quality care provided, as well as from building a rapport with the HCP. 

Simplicity - The platform has been designed to be an all encompassing environment. The simplified UI aims to improve efficiency with a point-and-click design principle, reducing the time spent navigating in the system and improving training retention. The integrated access control allows for reduction in how much can any specific user interact with, reducing the feeling of being overwhelmed that comes with the new system on-boarding.

Convenience - In addition to scheduling capabilities the platforms has been designed with integrated financial tracking, compliance monitoring and KPI dashboard. HCPs and HCOs can review their financial performance, track hours worked, as well as licensing status. HCOs can record, upload and manage on-boarding training that is site specific, with HCPs requiring to confirm completion prior to shift start. HCPs are also able to provide and manage their training credentials with in-house training available to assist HCPs in their career advancement.

Cost - by leveraging modern day technology the overhead costs carried by conventional staffing agencies is significantly reduced. HCOs stand to save 30-40% per year, with the surplus being allocated to other areas of the facility in need of attention.

Summary

The Healthcare Industry is going through a period of rampant cost overruns driven by labor shortages. With HCPs opting for other industries and options with reduced stress, better pay and more flexible scheduling. Taking advantage of the situation, Staffing Agencies have positioned themselves as sole solution to the crisis as both HCP employer and HCO supplier. Through profiteering practices HCOs are forced to pay unbearable high overhead, taking away funding from other areas in need of attention. The Shift Covered platform aims to bridge the gap between HCOs and HCPs by circumventing the Staffing Agencies. By leveraging technology we can provide greater access to a more qualified talent pool at a fraction of the cost. Yielding an overall higher quality of patient care as a morally boosted HCP, leads to more attentive patient care, with the tools and training provided by the HCO with the cost savings yielded by switching.