Outsourcing Access As A Staffing Solution

The healthcare sector faces numerous staffing challenges that can significantly impact the delivery of quality care. From nursing shortages to administrative gaps, finding and retaining skilled healthcare professionals is becoming more and more difficult. The American Hospital Association predicts a shortage of over 3 million healthcare workers by 2026. These staffing challenges can have a ripple effect throughout a healthcare system, leading to increased workloads, decreased efficiency, and compromised access. When simply increasing staff levels is not an option, healthcare organizations must think outside the box— outsourcing patient access can be an smart strategy…

Patient access call centers play a vital role in the healthcare ecosystem, serving as patients' the first point of contact. They handle appointment scheduling, insurance verification, and other crucial administrative tasks to ensure seamless patient experiences. Patients spend 40% more time on the phone navigating access than they do with their actual physicians. It’s not surprising, then, that the ease of the access experience can significantly impact patients’ perception of the care that follows. Unfortunately, staffing these call centers with qualified personnel can be daunting, especially when healthcare organizations are already grappling with shortages in critical areas.

Outsourcing non-care related job duties, such as managing patient access calls, can be a viable strategy for ensuring a high level of patient service while minimizing the impact of labor shortages on existing internal teams. Access partners offer specialized expertise, flexibility, cost savings, and continuity in service delivery. Additionally, given its core competency, an access partnership may elevate the level of patient service by bringing new resources to the table, such as the latest communication technologies— a benefit to patients and providers alike.

Utilizing outsourcing as part of your workforce management strategy may offer security and a level of resilience for the staffing challenges your organization faces today and those coming in the future. In an MGMA poll early this year, 48% of medical group leaders said they intended to outsource or turn to automation for non-care related processes such as access or revenue cycle. Strong partnerships can have advantages beyond simply providing services, including the ability to rapidly scale to meet fluctuating needs, aligning the processes they own to greater system goals, and leveraging the partnership to build a greater vendor support network.

Considering an outsourced partner? Envera Health offers comprehensive engagement partnership built on fully customized solutions and access staff that functions as an extension of your internal team. Learn more.