The following appears on healthcaredive.com

Hospital inefficiencies not only interfere with workflow, but also cost hospitals billions of dollars each year. A recent Ponemon Institute survey of more than 400 healthcare providers found that inadequate communication alone has an estimated annual economic impact of around $1.75 million per US hospital and more than $11 billion industry-wide.

Although many of the issues that lead to inefficiency may be complex, there are still some quick fixes that can add up to huge savings in both staff time and money. Here are some of the most common hospital inefficiencies and some simple strategies that can help to correct them:

1. Inadequate communication methods.

The results of the Ponemon Institute survey found that the primary reasons for communication challenges were the inefficiency of pagers, the inability to use text messaging and lack of Wi-Fi availability. Survey respondents agreed that the use of secure text messaging could increase productivity and minimize the economic loss by about 50%. This would amount to an annual savings of $875,000 per hospital.

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