5 Tell-Tale Signs Your Healthcare Business is Not Sustainable

Sustainability is increasingly becoming a priority among organizations across industries. For one thing, it positively impacts an organization’s long-term productivity. It also lays the groundwork for a business, enabling it to thrive in the long run.

In the healthcare industry, sustainability can pave the way for continuous, stable operations. As such, it’s important to assess whether or not your venture is sustainable, so you know if your organization is moving in the right direction.

In this post, we’ll talk about the tell-tale signs of an unsustainable healthcare business. But first, let’s take a quick look at why you should care about sustainability.

Why Sustainability Matters to Healthcare Businesses

Sustainability offers significant benefits for healthcare organizations. If a company has a healthy cash flow, it can sustain its processes and expand its operations. Resources are also available for bills and taxes, allowing for financial obligations to be settled on time. Meanwhile, a hospital having a good relationship with its patients and staff inspires loyalty and trust, which translates to high satisfaction ratings.

5 Signs Your Healthcare Business is Not Sustainable

Here are common signs a healthcare organization is not sustainable for the long term.

1. Inconsistent cash flow

Your profits can’t sustain your operations and keep your business running. If your cash flow is unstable, your organization might be looking at an uncertain future.

You may be facing constant pressure from insurers, who continually negotiate to pay lower prices in longer payment terms. Or it could be that delayed payments from patients may be causing fluctuations in your organization’s resources. These factors contribute to a bad cash flow, which can negatively impact your company’s financial stability.

To address the situation, consider investing in business accounting software so you can track your cash flow. Alternatively, you can partner with an outsourcing company to help you sort your finances out. Healthcare outsourcing providers like Infinit-O are equipped with the technology needed to efficiently manage healthcare records, helping you stay on top of your funds by organizing your financial documents to serve as an easy reference for analysis and reports.

2. High staff turnover rate

Figures from the 2019 National Healthcare Retention & RN Staffing Report indicate replacing a nurse costs an average of $40,300 to $64,000. Given this data, the average hospital incurs losses amounting to as high as $6.9 million each year. If your company has a high employee turnover rate, a serious financial blow is at your doorstep.

A study cited a heavy workload as one reason for a high turnover rate, noting that understaffing usually leads to a breakdown in the usual work processes. In turn, this compromises the quality of healthcare services rendered to patients.

Engaging the services of outsourcing firms can help solve this issue, as they have a pool of trained and skilled personnel who can help accomplish tasks efficiently. By hiring outsourced healthcare assistants, your employees’ workload will be reduced, allowing them to focus on delivering quality services to patients.

3. Low patient satisfaction scores

Patient satisfaction is a commonly used indicator of hospital service quality. A high rating reflects timely, efficient, and patient-centered delivery of healthcare. In contrast, a low score indicates a lack of empathy on the part of the healthcare staff.

A low satisfaction score can also mean poor customer experience in other areas, such as bills payment, records administration, and insurance processing. When these things go unchecked, they can cripple your organizational efficiency.

Outsourcing companies can make this aspect manageable for you. Third-party service providers offer healthcare business solutions focused on supporting important operations, helping you execute transactions seamlessly and achieve accurate results.

4. Rising employee burnout

Employee burnout is one of the major challenges faced by healthcare companies, especially during this pandemic. A survey conducted from June to September 2020 by Mental Health America found that 93% of healthcare workers were feeling stressed, with 86% saying they were experiencing anxiety.

When healthcare employees lose the energy and enthusiasm to do their job, patients could suffer. In this case, the ripple effect occurs: the customer gives a low rating, and the company bears the consequences. As a policy, hospitals get a penalty of less than 2% of their total Medicare payment for low scores.

If your healthcare staff is burned out, be on the lookout because this is a sign your business is not progressing the way it should. To prevent things from completely getting out of hand, consider channeling some of your functions to an outsourcing company to free up your employees’ time. By hiring outsourced healthcare assistants, your overworked personnel can be afforded a break, allowing them to recharge and get back to work with full energy and renewed motivation.

5. Recurring problems

Every company experiences problems once in a while. It’s part of being in the business. But if your organization is constantly in a crisis, dealing with the same issues over and over again, it could be a red flag.

It could mean you’re not getting to the root of the problem. Or it could be that the solutions in place do not address the real issue.

To turn this around, identify the loopholes and come up with a game plan to prevent them from occurring again. Also, consider partnering with an outsourcing company to streamline your processes. This way, you can enhance your organizational efficiency, which contributes to smoother operations.

Look Out for Business Sustainability

Sustainability paves the way for stable operations and long-term productivity. Hence, it’s crucial to be aware of the signs of an unsustainable venture so you can assess if your company is heading in the right direction.

If you’re a healthcare tech company in the growth stage and you’re struggling with keeping your business sustainable, working with an outsourcing provider can help you get around the problem.

With Infinit-O, you can achieve operational excellence with a high-performing healthcare team specifically designed for your needs, enabling you to save up to 70% on costs. We are ISO-certified (ISO 27001 and 9001) and are compliant with the General Data Protection Regulation, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, and Data Privacy Act. Our Net Promoter Score is 71, which means our customers are fully satisfied with our services.

Start small. Exceed expectations. Think infinitely. Think Infinit-O.