Efficient Agency Managment

Managing Staffing Agencies Efficiently

Three years ago, Tuality Healthcare in Hillsboro, Ore., worked with 40 local and national staffing agencies to book as many as 22,221 hours in supplemental shifts a year. "Nothing was standardized, so every agency had its own method," says Steve Krautscheid, the two-hospital system's employment coordinator. "It was craziness."

With a frustrated staffing office fielding multiple phone calls and faxes from various agencies after a new opening was posted, Krautscheid knew the process had to be streamlined. After attempting to work with the agencies, Krautscheid turned to ShiftWise, a Lake Oswego, Ore.-based company looking for facilities to help develop its Web-based healthcare staffing management service.

Tuality has never looked back. Krautscheid says the system allows supervisors from nursing to the cath lab to log on and post open shifts. Vendors submit online profiles for the managers to browse. "When the manager is satisfied they've found the person they want, they click to confirm and that person shows up for the shift," says Krautscheid. Because users can compare the amounts charged, the hospital has seen a significant drop in hourly rates.

Krautscheid also touts other benefits-specifically access to real-time data. Users can view the number of supplemental staff used on a given day, over a specific period of time or for a particular shift. Tuality adds FTEs to their float pools wherever they see a buildup of agency usage. "It's much more convincing if we can demonstrate that we've needed somebody for a shift for the past six months," Krautscheid says.

The service is currently used by 275 hospitals that pay an implementation and training fee. Agencies pay a fee for each shift they fill using the system.

-Kara Olsen