5 Things Healthcare Facilities Managers Can Do to Cut Costs

Healthcare facilities up and down the country are faced with mounting pressure to provide outstanding levels of care amidst an economic crisis. To help juggle balancing expenses and the provision of care, healthcare managers oversee daily operations. There are many ways this can be achieved including negotiating with vendors and finding ways to reduce waste. 

Optimize Energy Usage

Energy costs make up a large part of a healthcare facility’s overall expenses, so healthcare facility managers need to find ways to reduce this. For example, switching out traditional lighting for LED can save up to 90% in lighting costs. Additionally, the building should be properly weatherized, which means installing sufficient insulation and ensuring all cracks are sealed. 

Negotiate with Vendors

Healthcare facilities rely on service contracts that are often locked in for a certain amount of time, but this doesn’t mean the price can’t be negotiated. However, before approaching other suppliers at a lower cost, it’s important to carry out some research to find comparisons. For example, if the energy bills are higher than other services in the area, it’s a good idea to look at other energy providers in Texas. In some cases, your provider may be willing to match lower prices instead of losing the customer. 

Reduce Waste

Waste management costs a lot for healthcare facilities because there’s so much of it, and certain types of waste rely on specialist disposal. To avoid wasting so much, healthcare facilities can buy products in bulk and start encouraging teams to recycle. In different areas of the facility, managers can do the following to reduce waste:

• Pharmacies. Unused medications lead to enormous amounts of waste. To decrease waste, pharmacy managers can introduce a medication return program.
• Food services. Food waste can be reduced by training staff about best practices and starting to compost. 
• Operating rooms. Whenever possible, surgical waste including batteries, paper, linens, and metals should be recycled.

Conserve Water

Healthcare facilities rely on running water, but this doesn’t come cheap. To reduce the cost, facility managers must find ways to reduce consumption. For example, any leaks have to be repaired immediately and efficient water fixtures should be installed. As well as this, proper training should be given to employees about best practices for water conservation. 

Follow a Preventative Maintenance Program

When equipment fails suddenly it can lead to a loss of service and income, and then there are repairs/replacements on top of this. To avoid high costs and unforeseen failure, it’s a good idea to implement a preventative maintenance program. This involves regular servicing and inspections of all equipment and infrastructure. This way, all maintenance is documented and preventative action can be decided on. For example, a piece of equipment may need to be shut down for one day to avoid failing permanently. 

By integrating these five cost-cutting strategies into daily operations, healthcare facility managers will be able to offer excellent service while having more money to spend elsewhere. However, it’s important to remember that there’s no one-size-fits-all when it comes to saving costs within the healthcare industry.