Improving Workforce Skills Can Enhance Healthcare Quality and Cut Costs

The healthcare sector is grappling with multiple challenges, including workforce shortages, rising costs, and evolving patient expectations. At the forefront of these issues is the persistent struggle to improve care quality, which has not seen significant advancements despite technological progress. During an interview at the recent Reuters Total Health conference in Chicago, Stephanie Mercado, CEO of the National Association for Healthcare Quality (NAHQ), emphasized that many healthcare providers view quality and safety merely as compliance issues or costs to manage, rather than as crucial strategies for enhancing performance.

Mercado criticized the current quality infrastructure within healthcare organizations, describing it as largely retrospective and underdeveloped. She pointed out that providers often prioritize compliance and reporting over proactive improvements. “Patients expect high-quality care similar to what they experience with airlines,” Mercado stated, highlighting a gap between patient expectations and the realities of healthcare systems. She described these systems as complex and individualized, which complicates the delivery of consistent quality care.

Investing in workforce skills is crucial, Mercado asserted. By clarifying roles and enhancing staff competencies, hospitals can not only deliver safer, higher-quality care but also improve their financial outcomes. While advancements in artificial intelligence, automation, and data reporting are beneficial, they cannot yield improvements without a skilled workforce capable of interpreting and acting on the data.

Systematic Quality Improvement is Key to Healthcare Success

Mercado identified quality as a common thread linking various healthcare challenges, including readmissions, revenue cycle issues, and patient throughput. Addressing these challenges in isolation results in a “Whack-a-Mole” approach, while a systematic focus on quality can lead to sustainable solutions.

She highlighted the NAHQ’s workforce accelerator program and healthcare quality competency framework as effective tools for assessing and enhancing organizational workforce skills. Notable examples include the Veterans Affairs (VA), Kaiser Permanente, and Christus Health, all of which have successfully implemented NAHQ’s methodologies.

The VA, for instance, has reported a remarkable 42% increase in its CMS star ratings since partnering with NAHQ. This partnership has enabled the VA to outperform private sector organizations in several key areas, attributed to a systematic approach in organizing workforce roles and responsibilities.

Kaiser Permanente achieved savings of $6.53 million over two years by reducing avoidable costs linked to poor quality and safety, such as preventable infections and patient falls. Similarly, Christus Health reported $3 million in cost avoidance and a 50% reduction in serious safety events.

Mercado noted that these healthcare systems have praised NAHQ’s program for its ability to standardize roles, reduce performance variability, and enhance skills across entire teams. She expressed hope that more health systems will recognize that the path to both financial and clinical stability often lies in developing a consistently skilled workforce.

In conclusion, as the healthcare industry continues to face mounting pressures, investing in workforce skills presents a viable path toward improving care quality while simultaneously reducing costs. The evidence from organizations like the VA, Kaiser Permanente, and Christus Health underscores the potential benefits of a strategic focus on workforce development.