As vendor management systems take an increasing market share in acute care settings, hospitals are becoming further removed from the nationwide talent pool. Although the use of a MSP (Master Service Provider) removes many of the administrative hurdles in assignment of temporary labor, it also creates another wall between the hospital and the healthcare professionals they are seeking.
Prior to the MSP model, nurse managers and staffing coordinators had direct access to their favorite agencies and their favorite nurses. Times have changed. MSP’s have become commonplace. The price for minimizing administrative functions for the hospital has been the removal of direct connection to those providing care. One of the major reasons for the shift to MSP’s was the lack of technology available for hospitals to manage multiple agencies, multiple billing rates and multiple submission protocols. Hospitals now have the available technology to seamlessly do what MSP’s have been doing for years.
Technology and software have evolved. The functions of matching, paying, and credentialing outsourced staff are now at the fingertips of hospital management. By leveraging the latest technological advancements, hospitals can easily manage large numbers of contractors, and more importantly maintain transparency with access to all provided temporary labor. Further, hospitals can now easily integrate their needs with internal float pools alongside their agency orders. The fast acquisition of quality talent in today’s market is a prime driver in the industry. Software as a Service can put the hospital back in control of their most valuable resource– quality providers. Leveraging a truly transparent VMS model widens the candidate pool presenting vendors’ best talent for hospital staff to hire. This automation allows facilities to choose first among available talent instead of only seeing a “pre-selected” pool.
New technology involves change, which everyone can agree is not always easily embraced. In addition to direct access to quality talent, there is also a significant financial benefit which can be obtained through using a VMS directly and moving away from a MSP. Many current MSP models provide “fixed” rates across the board for a few levels of talent. This was a necessity to eliminate the impossible task of managing many different rates. The downside to this process is it prevents well performing vendors from providing talent at a lower bill rate. Since technology can now easily handle a multitude of bill rates, this restriction does not have to continue. A vendor that can provide a 10% reduction under current fixed rates is the same as the hospital getting every 10th hour free. Doing the math, you can see these dollars will quickly add up. One more area of savings in utilizing a VMS directly is the reduction in vendor fees charged to agencies by the MSP. These can be as high as 5%, and ultimately may be passed directly back to the facility through increased bill rates.
BlueSky Medical Staffing Software’s VMS platform puts hospitals back in the driver’s’ seat for those who want local control and visibility of their outsourced workforce. This is why BlueSky is going to AONE March 29-31 in Baltimore, MD. If you plan to be at AONE, we would enjoy meeting you in the Exhibit Hall, booth #1070.
