Improving efficiency and building a sustainable healthcare business

Large workloads, more paperwork, and a lack of time mean productivity is more important than ever for healthcare organisations. Digital technology is paving the way forward, helping providers uncover efficiencies and build a more sustainable business.

Our healthcare industry faces some significant challenges over the next few years.

Most pressing is one of Australia’s largest labour shortages, which has left our aged care sector short of 35,000 workers each year and the disability sector in need of 83,000 more workers by 2024 to fill gaps in the NDIS.

Time is precious in this climate, which makes productivity essential. An organisation with inefficient processes risks hampering growth, frustrating employees, and compromising the quality of care for clients.

Future-proof your business with technology

One way to ensure your organisation thrives, despite worker shortages and mounting compliance pressure, is to boost productivity with digital technology.

Manual administration costs staff time and resources that could be better spent caring for clients. It also creates uncertainty over whether you’re doing things correctly, as no organisation wants to incur penalties for simple compliance errors.

By streamlining paper-based tasks, providers can boost productivity and build a more sustainable business for the long-term future. Here are three ways your business can achieve this with technology.

1. Support staff productivity

A recent survey of Australian aged care staff found two-thirds are planning to leave the sector in the next four years, partly because of too much paperwork and high levels of stress.

Reducing paperwork by automating manual processes can relieve this pressure by helping employees get through admin tasks more efficiently, giving them time back in their day.

Rather than having to manually find client information from different sources, a digital system means workers can easily capture, record and access data from one place, no matter where they are. Staff will ultimately be more productive, with more time to care for clients, greater job satisfaction, and less risk of burnout.

2. Make compliance easier

Aged care and NDIS compliance regulations are increasingly complex as the care sector seeks to lift standards on the back of the relative Royal Commissions. Providers must stay up to date to maintain compliance, but this can be costly and time-consuming.

Technology can make this process much more efficient. Regulatory and government-driven price changes could be incorporated automatically into a provider’s system rather than added manually. This boosts productivity by reducing the time spent on compliance and lessens the risk of incurring breach notices and penalties.

3. Drive financial efficiency

Care providers often spend a significant amount of time reconciling service delivery with the billing and claiming process, which impacts cash flow and business sustainability.

A digital solution that integrates with the NDIS and other funding streams can reduce the time spent processing claims — often down to the same day.

Creating a flow of digital information — from enquiry to service agreement, care delivery and billing — also prevents inefficiencies that can stall claims and payment. If data is highly visible, you’re less likely to provide services when a client’s NDIS plan has expired, which helps prevent revenue leakage.

4. The end goal: business sustainability

Productivity through digital transformation isn’t an end in itself. With the right technology partner, it has the power to support fulfilled workers, happier clients, and higher standards of care.

This ultimately creates a sustainable care business — one that not only withstands outside pressure but is highly scalable for growth and offers the best standards of care.

Connect with Lumary to understand how we can help your organisation boost productivity and business sustainability through digital innovation.