More and more, managers, supervisors and leaders of all kinds are taking an active front line role in conjunction with their supervisory duties. This stretch is being seen across all sectors of work in our nation.
A local example: the school district’s superintendent driving the morning and afternoon bus route to get kids to and from school.
However, while the battle against COVID-19 continues, healthcare stands out as a sector in which this increase in demand can prove to be a matter of life and death. This need is leading to an increase in upper-level reach down due to staff burnout, increased patient volumes, hiring/staffing competition, increased work demands or a likely combination of all of these things.
Overtime pay can only pacify those eligible for so long in compensating for the duty increase, until that leader falls victim to the factor of burnout that put them in this position to begin with.
Revenue Cycle
To focus the scope, let’s look in on the revenue cycle–which is a piece of the backbone keeping hospitals open and functioning, respectfully.
Now, add in constantly updated different sets of rules by government and private payers, published guidelines and best practices that need to be monitored, documentation changes and requirements and adopted updates that require staff education.
Top all of this off with constant comparison to the hospital down the street. It’s overwhelming to just think about–let alone live. The likelihood of having administrative time to read the latest published government documents, association magazine or attend the hour-long education webinar to stay “in the know” is unrealistic today.
This is the time to utilize relationships with partners to take advantage of the experts on staff that can focus on staying up to date with payer guidelines, federal extensions, new billing codes, compliance, etc. With broad client bases, partners are up to date on process trends across the nation that can help keep facilities up to date with best practices.
Service-based relationship partners realize the pressure hospital staff are under and want to aid in any way possible. This includes providing educational updates and process improvement changes as soon as possible, as well as routine updates to clients to help alleviate that administrative stress of research, education and implementation instruction.
Leaders are encouraged to utilize the extension of expert eyes and ears at their disposal, and if there is a need, just ask! Just because your partner hasn’t done it in the past, doesn’t mean they can’t–they likely just need to know what your needs are.
Look at those relationships already in place to see if the stress relief you need is already on deck. If not, remember to invest in relationships that strive to serve your needs all the time–especially in times of distress.
