April 29, 2019
Investment in Information Technology will Improve Staff Scheduling, Reduce Overtime at Health Facilities
– – –Modernized Approach will Reduce Administrative Burden on Front-line Care Managers, Ensure Staffing Meets Patient Demand: Friesen
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The Manitoba government is investing in two new information technology systems to improve staff scheduling, allowing for better management of patient demand and challenges associated with overtime at health-care facilities in Winnipeg, Selkirk and Churchill, Health, Seniors and Active Living Minister Cameron Friesen announced today.
“This technology will allow hospital staff to assess the required staffing numbers for each day of the week for each job and the types of shifts within all facilities, giving our health-care facilities the tools to meet patient needs,” said Friesen. “These systems will enable ongoing reductions in overtime and patient length of stay as staffing resources are better aligned with patient need.”
Implemented in other Canadian jurisdictions, including Vancouver and Saskatoon, the resource optimization (RO) system has proven effective at reducing overtime by ensuring optimal staffing levels are planned ahead of time to meet projected patient volumes. The new system will forecast demand and compare scheduled resources with those required to manage the acuity and volume of patients.
The RO system will be implemented in three phases, beginning at Health Sciences Centre Winnipeg (HSC). Later phases will include implementation at St. Boniface and Grace hospitals, followed by Concordia, Seven Oaks and Victoria hospitals.
“Advancements in technology are transforming the delivery of health care, allowing front-line managers to spend less time on administrative duties while ensuring facilities are appropriately staffed to meet patient need,” said Lanette Siragusa, chief nursing officer at Shared Health. “Consistent processes and optimal staffing to meet projected patient levels will enable us to improve patient flow and reduce length of stay. This, in turn, will reduce overtime and overstaffing, by ensuring resources are redirected to where patient need exists.”
The workforce management system, meanwhile, will modernize scheduling, develop consistent processes and clearly define staffing requirements. These improvements will reduce the administrative burden placed on front-line care managers and allow for improvement response to sick time and other staffing gaps as well as better management of overtime, particularly for employees who work at multiple sites.
“We have seen how capacity-planning tools like these have helped hospitals in other Canadian cities accurately forecast patient demand, which has allowed them to maximize capacity, improve staffing resource alignment, and deliver exceptionally safe care,” said Krista Williams, chief health operations officer, Winnipeg Regional Health Authority. “We look forward to bringing these same technological benefits to our own staff here in Winnipeg,”
Currently, eight separate scheduling systems are used across facilities within the Winnipeg health region, as well as at HSC Winnipeg and Selkirk Mental Health Centre.
St. Boniface Hospital will be the first to implement the electronic workforce management system. The site is the last facility in the Winnipeg health region to use manual processes and spreadsheets to schedule staff.
The second phase will extend the new system to other health-care facilities, introducing consistent versions of software and co-ordinated maintenance and scheduling administration at the following sites:
• HSC Winnipeg;
• Churchill Health Centre;
• Concordia Hospital (including Concordia Place);
• Grace Hospital;
• Seven Oaks General Hospital;
• Victoria General Hospital;
• Deer Lodge Centre (including River Park Gardens and Middlechurch Home);
• Misericordia Health Centre (including Misericordia Place);
• Riverview Health Centre; and
• Selkirk Mental Health Centre.
More than $8 million in funding for the two systems will come from the provincial Capital Transformation Fund, which supports the use of technology to create more effective and efficient operations. The one-time investment is expected to be offset by annual savings of at least $8 million that will be reinvested into improving health care, said Friesen.
More information on the Capital Transformation Fund is available at:
https://news.gov.mb.ca/news/index.html?item=43914.
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