1st Edition
Using Data Management Techniques to Modernize Healthcare
Healthcare organizations with sound human resources (HR) infrastructures are better able to hire, develop, promote, and retain employees who match up well with their specific needs. Using Data Management Techniques to Modernize Healthcare explains how to modernize your HR systems through the use of artificial intelligence (AI), information technology (IT), and other empirical methods. Identifying new technologies and processes that can help to reduce HR labor costs while increasing efficiency and quality of care, it examines the weaknesses that exist in the hiring and employee management practices of today’s healthcare organizations.
With a focus on the systemic issues related to hiring and compensation, the book provides detailed information regarding HR protocols, IT related issues, and workplace culture. It suggests ways to speed up candidate reviews and explains how to use IT and AI to reduce the number of bad hires. Other topics covered include five key drivers of hospital growth, the digital revolution and its relevance to healthcare companies’ HR practices, and ideas you can use to increase employee satisfaction and retention.
Providing helpful tips for modernizing HR processes that can save your healthcare organization time and money, the book begins with a historical overview of the growth of the hospital industry and the challenges it currently faces. Next, it discusses HR infrastructures and details methods for improving your hiring systems.
The final part of the book covers employee development and promotion programs, the proper management and motivation of staff, and the unique HR and IT challenges facing rural hospitals. The book’s appendix includes copies of key checklists, figures, and tables found throughout the book.
After reading this book, you will understand how to compare your current HR system to the authors' proposed 21st century model so that you can pinpoint the HR processes that must be retooled to modernize your system.
Introduction—A Look at the Changing Face of Healthcare
Hospitals—The Golden Years
Five Key Drivers of Hospital Growth: 1940s–1970s
The Good Times End—Hospitals Forced to Become More Efficient: 1980s–Present
Five Issues Negatively Impacting Hospital Margins
How Hospitals Have Tried to Cope with the Changing Environment
Rosy on the Outside/Bleak on the Inside
New Challenges on the Horizon
The 21st-Century Hospital: Maximizing Efficiency without Sacrificing Patient Quality
The Mantra for All Healthcare Providers
References
The Digital Revolution and Its Relevance to Healthcare Companies’ HR Practices and Infrastructures
The Early Stages of the Technology Revolution—A Slow Beginning
Contemporary IT Systems
Hospitals Slow to Adopt (and Adapt to) New Technologies
Changes Are Afoot
The Juxtaposition between Old and New Creates Opportunities
References
Healthcare HR at the Crossroads
Understanding HR
HR Focus—Holistic and Progressive
HR and Bad Hires
Bad Hires and Their Impact on the Bottom Line and on Patient Care
HR Infrastructures and Non–Hiring-Related Issues
HR-Related Strategies
HR Tasks
Looking Ahead
References
A Review of Six Employment Methods
Staffing Firms
Outsourcing
Interns
Referrals
Job Fairs
Direct Hiring
References
Suggestions for Improving a Healthcare Organization’s Direct Hiring Systems—The Initial Stages
Individual Freedom: Blessing and Bane
Ways to Improve the External Hiring Process for Direct Hires
The Initial Contact
The Initial Candidate Vetting Process
HR Should Take the Initiative
Get Rid of the Résumé
Move to an Application-Only System
Maintain a Dynamic Database
Mine Old Candidate Data for Potential Hires
Keep Applicants Informed
Survey the Applicants
References
The Initial Stages in the Hiring Process—The Discussion Continues
It Is Hard to Find Good Workers—Even in a Recession
Focus Less on Credentials and More on Potential
Record Everything in a Database
Testing
Objectively Assess a Candidate’s Verbal Reasoning Abilities
A Managed Approach
References
Suggestions for Improving HR’s Direct Hiring Systems—The Intermediate/Final Stages
What Are You Hiring the Person to Do?
Create Proactive Action Plans
Small Healthcare Organizations Should Think Like Baseball Teams—Focus on Flexibility
Small Healthcare Companies—Key in on a Candidate’s Potential
A Hiring Game Plan for Small Companies 1
Place Everything into a Database
Adopt a Paperless Hiring System
Corporate Culture: One Key Barrier to a Paperless Hiring System
Overcoming These Cultural Barriers
Benefits Outweigh the Costs
A Case in Point: How to Convince Hiring Managers to Go Digital
References
Additional Suggestions for Improving the Hiring Process
A Review—Focusing on Electronic Processes and High-Potential Hires
Other Suggestions
Social Media—The New Way to Connect
Companies Now Using Social Media in the Hiring Process
Social Media Mining and the Hiring Process—The Potential
Social Media Mining and the Hiring Process—The Problems
A Guide to Using Social Media Mining as a Part of the Hiring Process
A Different Type of Interview
Improving Management’s Ability to Identify, Develop, and Promote Internal Talent
The Two P’s: How They Hinder Internal Development and Promotion Programs
Power and Its Effect on the Development and Promotion of Internal Talent
When Managers Use Too Many Sticks and Not Enough Carrots
A Real Life Example—How Poor Management Skills Can Have a Negative Impact on the Workplace
Other Sources of Power and Their Effects on Employee Development
Corporate Politics
The Seniority System
Promotion and Development Systems That Favor the Aggressive Employees
Ways to Maximize Employee Development and Promotion Systems
Create the Right Culture and Use Key Information Technology (IT) Tools to Identify and Develop Workplace Talent
References
Ideas That Managers and Executives Can Use to Increase Employee Satisfaction
A Review of the Topics Discussed in Chapter 9
How to Retain, Manage, and Motivate Employees
Culture and Its Importance in Worker Management
Why Healthcare Companies Should Care about These Six Features
Special Considerations for Clinical-Based Healthcare Companies
A Case in Point—The Disgruntled Employee
The Other Side of the Argument
Solutions Should Be Creative, Cost-Effective, Authentic, Planned, and Multipronged
Using IT and Data Management Tools to Aid in Improving Employee Satisfaction
Summing Things Up
References
A Review of Some of the Unique HR and IT Challenges Facing Rural Hospitals and a Guide to Tackling These Issues
Looking Backwards
Rural Health Systems—A Unique Set of Problems and HR-Related Solutions
Community Hospitals in Rural Areas
Community Hospitals and Revenue Challenges
Rural Hospitals—Problems in Finding and Keeping Skilled Workers
Dearth of Employees Takes Its Toll on Rural Health Systems
Rural Health Systems Need to Employ Creative, Synergistic, Labor-Related Solutions
HR and Employee Management Initiatives Should Meet Four Key Objectives
Summing Things Up
References
A Review of Key Topics and a Look at Future Trends
Technology Is Becoming More Ubiquitous
Future Advances in Technology Will Impact Almost All Areas of Healthcare
Five Specific Trends Related to the Technology Revolution
Healthcare Organizations’ Revenue Streams Will Remain Unpredictable
Look for Diamonds in the Data and Knowledge "Rough"
The 21st-Century Employee
Building the Right Culture: Employee Satisfaction Is Key
The Negative Impact of Bad Hires
The Direct Hiring Process—A Model That Is Applicable to any Era
Setting Up a Direct Hiring System—A Checklist
A Guide to Developing and Promoting Internal Talent
The Data-Driven Office
References
Appendix
Index
Biography
Anthony Hopper has worked in the healthcare industry for over a decade. During the course of his healthcare career, he has spent time with both small healthcare organizations and hospital systems. He has held a number of different positions at these organizations, including analyst and upper-management–level jobs. He also has experience in health policy via an internship with the Center for Studying Health System Change.
Anthony most recently served as a business development officer for Rapid Improvement, Inc. This company utilizes an artificial intelligence algorithm and a unique, one-question survey technique to translate text-based complaints into quantifiable data. He still maintains an affiliation with this company.
Anthony is currently a full-time instructor at ECPI University’s Emerywood campus, located in Richmond, Virginia. He recently coauthored an article on sentiment analysis that appeared in the Journal of Health Organization and Management. He has an M.A. in English from the University of Virginia and an M.S. in Health Systems Administration from Georgetown University.
"Hopper has delivered a well-organized and informational piece of work that appeals to the executive-level health professional. His sequencing of information is logical, direct, and to the point, which provides a clear understanding of the material contained within. His writing skills provide a fresh and concise method to comprehend the complexity of solid hiring protocols which will be beneficial for any level executive."
-Samuel Silek RPh, Sr., VP Managed Care and Professional Sales, Liberty Medical, LLC