Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/975711
H E A LT H C A R E FA C I L I T I E S I N the United States spent $4.8 billion on travel nurses in 2017, notes Staffi ng Industry Analysts, which conducts research related to staffing and workforce issues. That is almost double the fi gure from three years earlier and refl ects a worsening shortage of registered nurses around the country. Nurse recruitment firm NSI Nursing Solutions conducted surveys of healthcare facilities nationwide in 2013 and 2017. In 2013, roughly half of the facilities had vacancy rates of 5 percent or higher for registered nurses. More than 80 percent had vacancy rates of at least 5 percent in 2017, Reuters reports. Interviews with nearly two dozen hospitals around the country, including a number of large chains, found they must either pay to bring in travel nurses or risk endangering patients and shuttering departments. For example, Charleston Area Medical Center in West Virginia needed no travel nurses 10 years ago. However, in 2017, it spent $12 million on travel nurses. ■ — Steve Barrett A C R O S S "T H E " B O A R D A N D TA R G E T E D financial incentives alike can enhance staff performance in a physician practice, according to California-based Practice Management Resource Group (PMRG), a medical billing service. A practice should make profi t sharing part of its overhead to reward the entire team for meeting revenue benchmarks, PMRG writes on its website. Because such a system puts some staff compensation at risk, however, the practice should ensure base salaries are competitive to discourage good employees from leaving in a shortfall year. Targeted bonuses for teams working on specifi c projects are also key because they generate excitement and lend importance even to mundane tasks, according to PMRG. One possible approach: A team earns 95 per- cent of base pay for unacceptable results, 100 percent for acceptable results, 105 per- cent for outstanding results and 110 percent for "breakthrough" results. An additional bonus rewards the team that exceeds its baseline target by the greatest percentage. ■ — Steve Barrett TIDY ING UP YOUR claims process can mean fewer denials, rapid resolution of errors and increased revenue. For example, claim-scrubbing technology catches and repairs problems that even the most conscientious biller can miss, NextGen Healthcare, a technology company that partners with ambulatory care practices, notes in a white paper about revenue cycle management. It is also essential to review any denied claims for accuracy, appeal denied claims and have in place a denial management process, according to the company. Providers often don't bother with appeals, but the fi nancial consequences of inaction are signifi cant. "Task an employee with appeal duties," NextGen Healthcare urges. "Otherwise, you could be letting more than 4 percent of what you're owed slip through the cracks!" ■ — Steve Barrett Tab for Travel Nurses Grows Stake a Claim to Higher Revenue Managing Incentives to Optimize Performance 1 4