Recruiting alone won't solve the workforce crisis, according to these leaders.
One of the biggest areas of concern for healthcare executives of all titles is the workforce, and the issues go far beyond recruitment and retention.
Today's CNOs, CMOs, and other industry leaders are confronting AI, breaking down barriers to entry in education, and cultivating a sense safety in the workplace, all in an effort to create the most sustainable workforce possible. However, this work doesn't come without major challenges.
The 2024 HealthLeaders Workforce Decision Makers Exchange wrapped up last week in Washington D.C. after two days of insightful idea-sharing and compelling discussion about the most difficult obstacles in building a workforce. Here's how leaders are tackling the key issues that are keeping them up at night.
Leveraging AI and virtual care
First and foremost, the healthcare industry is facing a workforce shortage, of nurses, physicians, and plenty of other critical positions. However, according to the Exchange members, it's not just about hiring new people.
"We cannot recruit our way out of the workforce crisis," said Chris DeRienzo, MD, chief physician executive at the American Hospital Association (AHA).
Leaders need integrate technologies such as AI and virtual nursing to streamline processes and give clinicians time back at the bedside. However, both of those technologies should be used as assistive tools, not replacements for FTEs.
When it comes to AI, leaders should strive to implement and adopt AI that has a low barrier to entry and can be used by clinicians with varied technological backgrounds. Staff must be included in the development process, and patients should be fully informed and educated on the technology and how it works. Leaders should consider using patient advisory boards to understand the questions and concerns that patients have surrounding AI as well.
For virtual care, specifically in nursing, leaders should consider using metrics such as retention rates, turnover rates, and nurse engagement to measure ROI. The capabilities of virtual care technology stretch far beyond only virtual nursing, and health systems should consider how other departments can leverage the same technology for different purposes.
Cultivating generational wellness
It's also no secret that workforce expectations have changed in recent years, especially since the pandemic. New generations of nurses and physicians want different things and prioritize other types of benefits than previous generations before them. Younger nurses want more flexibility, work-life balance, and with the rising cost of living, more compensation with benefits that suit their needs.
For leaders, according to the Exchange members, it's crucial to let go of some of the more traditional processes and make way for new ones. The idea of flexible scheduling has been gaining traction, especially since the pandemic, as a method of accommodation for the busy lives of nurses at all life stages.
The Exchange members also emphasized the importance of wellness and building a culture of psychological safety, where staff feel comfortable approaching leadership with questions and concerns. Leaders have a responsibility to connect with their employees and build relationships that allow for honest communication and trust.
Building educational pipelines
One of the biggest drivers of the workforce shortage is the lack of clear pathways into the healthcare industry.
According to the Exchange members, this begins with a faculty shortage. The lack of teachers and faculty limits the number of slots available in medical school programs, which in turn limits the number of applicants who can be accepted into the programs. Medical education is also expensive and time consuming, and with stagnating wages, future physicians are wondering whether the profession is worth it.
Leaders must strategize and build better pipelines into the industry, for both physicians and nurses. According to the Exchange members, this involves strong partnerships with academic institutions as well as considering innovative solutions such as tuition reimbursement or assistance, and other incentives for students who are interested in entering the industry. It's also important that leaders keep diversity in mind and build workforces that reflect the communities they serve.
Ultimately, leaders need to keep experimenting with new ways to recruit and retain clinicians, streamline processes, and expand how care is delivered. According to Ronda McKay, vice president of patient care services and chief nursing officer at Powers Health, even if things go wrong, it energizes leaders and staff alike when they can try new things.
"If we don't think it's going to hurt anybody," McKay said, "try it."
See more coverage from the 2024 Workforce Decision Makers Exchange here.
The HealthLeaders Exchange is an executive community for sharing ideas, solutions, and insights. Please join the community at our LinkedIn page.
In this HealthLeaders podcast, Jim Blum, CMIO at University of Iowa Health Care and a Mastermind participant, talks about giving clinicians the tools to improve their workflows and patient care without hitting them over the head with governance.
Is it possible to do too much with AI governance?
James Blum, MD, thinks so. The CMIO at University of Iowa Health Care and a participant in the HealthLeaders Mastermind program on AI in clinical care, says the technology needs to be treated with the proper safeguards, but that doesn't mean separating it from all other innovative tools and processes.
"AI and healthcare probably shouldn't exist in the vacuum," he said during a recent HealthLeaders podcast. "And we shouldn't be acquiring AI for the sake of AI. We should probably be looking to solve problems that people have, and if that involves AI, great. If it doesn't, that's probably in many ways better because it takes out display of governance and potentially a lot of additional expense."
UI Health Care has launched two AI tools for clinical care: An ambient transcription platform developed by Nabla, which roughly 1,100 of the health system's 3,000 doctors are now using, and a chart mining platform from Evidently that collects all relevant data on a patient from multiple sources to give clinicians a concise view of the patient.
"I can see these very sick patients [with] long, complex medical histories and, really, I'm able to know as much about that patient as the intern that was up all night trying to comb through their entire medical history," he points out.
Blum says both tools were carefully reviewed by UI Health Care through a normal process for reviewing new vendors. With AI, that includes bringing in clinicians and IT personnel who understand the nuances of the technology.
"It is with a group of individuals that are qualified to review the AI right and really understand the performance characteristics and what can be expected of the technology in addition to our typical acquisition process," he said.
"And that's where the AI committee can get engaged and say, ‘OK. Let's look at the performance characteristics and training set and those types of things and give a thumbs up or thumbs down' as to [whether] they think the science behind the AI algorithms is good. And if it's not, then convey that to the groups that are doing the acquisition and say we really don't endorse this because we think it's not a product that's really going to deliver what they're purporting it will deliver to you."
Blum says AI is such an intuitive technology that it doesn't need the intensive resources and training for adoption that health systems typically set aside.
"With all types of departmental meetings and going to individual clinics and a lot of hand-holding … we would we would get nowhere near this level of adoption this quickly if we did it the way we typically roll out," he said.
Instead, with the ambient dictation tool, the health system held one training session and made that available on video. This takes the pressure off of the IT department and gives clinicians more of a responsibility to understand how AI will work for them.
"If it's not working for you, go back and do things [the old way}," he said. "So you don't need to have this really comprehensive, elaborate rollout and you can go ahead and basically turn the technology on and let the use of it grow organically."
"It's a much more targeted intervention and I think results in a much greater utilization," Blum added, noting the health system can identify who isn't using the new technology and help them if needed. "We're not going to go ahead and force you to use the technology you don't want to use, and we're also not going to spoon-feed you. But if you want to be better, you want to be more efficient, it takes a little bit of self-motivation. How many people went to a class on how to use their smartphone before they started using it?"
Blum says he's excited to see how generative and predictive AI evolve and are worked into the clinical space. And while UI Health Care is always looking for new partnerships, the health system will balance doesn't want to buy or build a new tool that will be rendered obsolete by a new capability from its EHR partner in a few years.
More important, he said, are the cost and data storage concerns that come with AI.
"All this stuff, all these large language models and all this processing and the tokenization just requires a ton of computational power," he said. "And this introduces an entire new realm of expense for health systems, without there being necessarily a great financial upside on these things."
Blum says health systems will have a hard time defining an ROI that will please everyone. AI might be great at reducing physician stress, but is that enough for CFOs and CEOs who want the health system to meet increasing patient demands?
"This leads to millions of dollars a year that you're spending on these types of technologies and you may not see a financial upside for that," he says. "And in this era of 1% margins, this gets to be a real challenge."
To listen to the HealthLeaders podcast, click here.
The HealthLeaders Mastermind program is an exclusive series of calls and events with healthcare executives. This Mastermind series features ideas, solutions, and insights on excelling in your AI programs.
To inquire about participating in an upcoming Mastermind series or attending a HealtLeaders Exchange event, email us at exchange@healthleadersmedia.com.
CMS won't extend certain key pandemic-era waivers any longer, putting telehealth expansion plans in jeopardy. Will lawmakers step in and take action?
Pandemic-era telehealth waivers that allowed providers to expand their virtual care footprint will end this year unless Congress takes action.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced in its finalized 2025 Physician Fee Schedule that it won’t extend most of those waivers any longer, putting back in place pre-COVID telehealth limitations. Those include restrictions on where telehealth can be provided and delivered, as well as who can use telehealth through Medicare.
The end of the waivers would curtail a number of telehealth strategies, especially for older Americans and those living in urban and suburban areas. It would also limit the use of virtual care by specialists and other types of care providers (such as physical and occupational therapists and speech language pathologists) and limit where telehealth can be provided to certain CMS-approved sites, like health clinics.
CMS has, however, included some changes in telehealth regulation for the coming year, including a one-year extension of the waiver allowing providers who bill Medicare for their services and deliver virtual care from their homes to list their practice as the site of telehealth delivery.
“Allowing appropriately licensed and credentialed providers to practice telehealth from their home improves patient access to healthcare services, reduces healthcare costs, while maintaining and meeting patient demand for care,” advocates said in an October letter to CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure. “This was necessary during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and remains just as important today amidst provider workforce shortages and burnout, given that 78 percent of health care practitioners agree that retaining the opinion to provide virtual care from a location convenient to the practitioner would ‘significantly reduce the challenges of stress, burnout, or fatigue’ facing their profession and eight in 10 indicate that this flexibility would make them more likely to continue providing medical care.”
In addition, CMS is:
Finalizing a proposal to add several services to the Medicare Telehealth Services List, including caregiver training services on a professional basis and PrEP counseling and safety interventions on a permanent basis. For CY 2025, the agency will continue to suspend limits on the frequency of subsequent inpatient and nursing facility visits and critical care consultations.
Making permanent a ruling that Medicare telehealth services delivered to patients in their home can be done by two-way, real-time, audio-only communication technology (such as a phone) if the patient doesn’t have or want access to video services and the provider can offer that platform.
Making permanent a new definition of “direct supervision” for certain services that are required to furnish under the direct supervision of a physician or other supervising practitioner. The new definition would allow the supervising physician or practitioner to use real-time, interactive, audio-visual communications. For all other services, CMS is extending the use of supervision by telemedicine for one year.
Extending for one year a policy to allow teaching physicians to use telemedicine for purposes of billing for services furnished involving residents in all teaching settings, but only in clinical instances when the service is furnished virtually (such as in a three-way telehealth visit involving the patient, resident and teaching physician).
Led by the ATA, telehealth advocates are holding out hope that Congress will take action on one or more of several bills currently before lawmakers. They include:
The Bipartisan Telehealth Modernization Act of 2024 (R. 7623 and S. 3967) and the CONNECT for Health Act (H.R. 4189 and S. 2016), which would extend Medicare telehealth flexibilities through 2026.
The Telehealth Expansion Act (1001,HR 1843), which would permanently allow individuals with HDHP-HSAs to access telehealth services before meeting their deductible.
The Medicare Telehealth Privacy Act of 2023 (HR 6364), which would make permanent the provision allowing providers to bill for telehealth services using their practice address rather than their home address.
The Telehealth Benefit Expansion for Workers Act of 2023 (HR 824), which would permanently classify telehealth as an excepted benefit, enhancing access for workers.
Despite the promises of AI, there are still some major hurdles, according to executives attending the HealthLeaders Workforce Decision Makers Exchange.
No matter the size of the health system, AI is top of mind for healthcare leaders.
Health systems across the country are at different points of implementation. There are many factors to consider, so while some are ahead of the curve and in the implementation stages, others are still deciding if the investment in AI is what’s best for their workforce.
The HealthLeaders Workforce Decision Makers Exchange is well on its way this week, with participating members discussing the hypotheticals and realities of AI in healthcare and what this new technological revolution means for the workforce.
Here are three major AI hurdles that CNOs, CMOs, and other healthcare leaders will have to overcome.
Implementation to adoption
One of the biggest challenges with implementing any new sort of technology is adoption, and the same goes for AI.
According to the Exchange members, it can be easy to make the investment in new technologies and then not actually adopt them into workflows. CNOs and other leaders must communicate with staff about the presence of AI in their daily operations and educate them on how to integrate the technology into their tasks.
One major goal for health systems using AI is to reduce administrative burden and give time back to clinicians. It is critical that AI and other new technologies have a low barrier to entry, so that staff with different levels of technical literacy can be easily trained.
Staff buy-in
For AI implementation to be successful, the process must include the nurses and physicians who are going to be using it. However, AI has caused quite a bit of fear among staff, in other industries as well as healthcare.
The Exchange members emphasized the importance of communicating to staff that AI is a tool, not a replacement. Leaders must include staff in the conversation from the beginning and be transparent about how their jobs will change. The language being used surrounding AI matters, according to the Exchange members, and leaders must unify the narrative so that internal messaging is communicated clearly.
Patient acceptance
Consistent external messaging is also critical to successfully using AI. Patients must have confidence in their care team. According to the Exchange members, this begins with robust patient education.
Leaders must build trust with patients by explaining how AI and other technology is used and how it will benefit them. Patients need to have a clear idea of what information is being documented and how. The Exchange members also recommended using patient advisory councils to find out what questions or concerns patients might be having about how AI is used.
Stay tuned for more key takeaways from the 2024 Workforce Decision Makers Exchange.
The HealthLeaders Exchange is an exclusive, executive community for sharing ideas, solutions, and insights.
Please join the community at our LinkedIn page. To inquire about attending a HealthLeaders Exchange event and becoming a member, email us at exchange@healthleadersmedia.com.
New Advanced Primary Care Management codes will give providers more incentives to use virtual care and digital health to improve care management and coordination.
A new primary care model that allows providers to use virtual care and other technology to address patient care needs is getting the green light from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
In the finalized 2025 Physician Fee Schedule unveiled last week, CMS included three new HCPCS codes for Advanced Primary Care Management. The codes, which take effect at the beginning of 2025, focus on physician interactions with patients at the time and place of their choosing and are billed monthly, rather than based on a specific number of minutes spent with a patient.
In a blog post earlier this year, Carrie Nixon and Kaitlin O’Connor of Nixon Gwilt Law said the new codes focus on specific activities by clinicians and using technology to address patient needs.
“The Advanced Primary Care Management (or APCM) HCPCS codes bundle elements of the existing Chronic Care Management (CCM) and Principal Care Management (PCM) codes set with Communications Technology-Based Services (CTBS) codes for virtual check-ins, remote evaluation of images, e-visits, and interprofessional consults to create what CMS refers to as an ‘enhanced care management’ bundle,” they wrote. “Unlike CCM and PCM services, the APCM codes are not time-based – meaning, care management services that do not meet the 20 or 30-minute requirements for CCM or PCM would be billable under APCM.”
Nixon and O’Connor also noted that CMS is expanding the rule to allow non-physician care providers, such as nurse practitioners and physician assistants, to order and bill for those services, as long as any practitioner who bills for those services “Intends to be responsible for the patient’s primary care and is the continuing focal point for all needed healthcare services.”
In a November 5 blog, Alexandra Shalom, senior counsel with the Foley & Lardner law firm, noted that because the new codes were designed to be consistent with existing codes for care coordination, providers need to be careful not to bill the new APCM codes alongside those overlapping codes. Examples of overlapping services include interprofessional specialist consults, remote evaluation videos and images submitted by patients, virtual check-ins and communications with patients through an online portal.
The three new codes are:
G0556: Level 1, for persons with one chronic condition.
G0557: Level 2, for persons with two or more chronic conditions.
G0558: Level 3, for persons with two or more chronic conditions and status as a Qualified Medicare Beneficiary.
In a fact sheet issued on November 1, CMS said it had received many requests to increase the valuation for the codes, and will be doing so for G0556.
“Beginning January 1, 2025, physicians and non-physician practitioners (NPPs) who use an advanced primary care model of care delivery as described by the service elements of the APCM codes could bill for APCM services when they are the continuing focal point for all needed health care services and responsible for all the patient's primary care services,” the agency reported. “This new finalized coding and payment better recognizes and describes advanced primary care services, encourages primary care practice transformation, helps ensure that patients have access to high quality primary care services, and simplifies billing and documentation requirements, as compared to existing care management and communication technology-based services codes.”
“The finalized codes also represent a step towards paying for primary care services with hybrid payments (a mix of encounter and population-based payments) to support longitudinal relationships between primary care providers and beneficiaries, by paying for care in larger units of service, and also help drive accountable care,” CMS added. “A practitioner who is participating in a Shared Savings Program ACO, a Realizing Equity, Access, and Community Health ACO (REACH ACO), a Primary Care First practice, or a Making Care Primary practice may satisfy requirements for these codes by virtue of meeting requirements under the Shared Savings Program or Innovation Center model.”
According to Salom, providers seeking reimbursement under one of the three new APCM codes need to satisfy nine requirements:
Patient consent (inform the patient of the services, their right to stop, and of the potential cost sharing obligations;
Initiating visit (required for new patients and patients not seen by the practice in the last three years);
24/7 access and continuity of care (access to team member for urgent needs at all times and continuity through the use of a dedicated team member);
Comprehensive care management (systematic needs assessment, system-based approaches to ensure preventative services are provided, and medication reconciliation, and oversight of patient self-management of medications);
Patient-centered comprehensive care plan (the plan should be timely available to those involved with a patient’s care, routinely updated, and provided to the patient and/or caregiver);
Management of care transitions (ensuring timely exchange of electronic health information and patient follow-up after emergency room visits and hospital discharges);
Practitioner, home-, and community-based care coordination (coordinated referral management with specialists and other health care organizations through developing processes and procedures in the form of collaborative care agreements and electronic consultations);
Enhanced communication opportunities (for patients and caregivers to communicate with team members through additional asynchronous methods);
Patient population-level management (manage preventative and chronic care for the practice’s patient population and develop and implement strategies to improve outcomes); and
Performance measurement (quality, cost of care, and meaningful use of certified electronic health records technology).
“While these new codes come with a number of administrative requirements, the APCM codes provide additional opportunities for practitioners to collect reimbursement for care management services, some of which they may already performing,” Shalom concluded in her post. “HHS has long noted that effective primary care services and relationships are critical to improve health equity and access to care and as early as 2014, CMS recognized care management as a key component of primary care. As such, CMS’s goal in offering these codes is that it will allow practices to enhance or expand their care management services, which in turn will improve population-level mortality and reduce disparities.”
CNOs and other healthcare executives are strategizing to address recruitment and retention, workplace violence, and virtual nursing challenges, say these nurse leaders.
Nurse leaders have had many challenges to face this year, and CNOs have been brainstorming ideas for addressing the nursing shortage as well as disruptors such as AI and virtual care.
From Nov. 6 to Nov. 8, the members of the HealthLeaders Workforce Decision Makers Exchange will meet in Washington D.C. to discuss critical workforce issues in nursing, and innovative solutions to address recruitment and retention, technology, and workplace violence challenges.
Mentorship for nurses comes in many forms, says this CNO.
On this episode of HL Shorts, we hear from Gloria Carter, vice president and CNO at St. Mary Medical Center, and HealthLeaders Exchange member, about how CNOs can provide mentorship opportunities to help prepare new nurses and nurse leaders. Tune in to hear her insights.
The HealthLeaders Exchange is an exclusive, executive community for sharing ideas, solutions, and insights.
HealthLeaders Senior Editor for Innovation Eric Wicklund talks to Jim Blum, chief health information officer at the University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics and a participant in the HealthLeaders Mastermind program on AI in clinical care, on how the health system is using AI and how they're setting the ground rules for future programs.
There are four key technology trends that revenue cycle leaders are prioritizing to boost efficiency, strengthen vendor management, and support staff transformation.
As hospitals and health systems face increasing financial pressure, revenue cycle leaders are doubling down on advanced technology to streamline operations, increase payment efficiency, and navigate workforce challenges—but they can’t do it alone.
HealthLeaders' upcoming RevTech Exchange, from November 11-13, 2024, in Nashville, is bringing these leaders together to discuss the latest trends reshaping revenue cycle technology with hands-on discussions led by industry innovators from organizations like Stanford Healthcare and WVU Medicine.
So, what are rev cycle leaders actually spotlighting? Let’s dive into the four technology trends that revenue cycle leaders are prioritizing—and why they matter now more than ever.
Strengthening Vendor Contracts
In today’s complex healthcare landscape, effective vendor management has become essential for revenue cycle success. As organizations increasingly depend on vendors for crucial automation, AI-driven tools, and data analytics, clear, well-structured contracts and accountability metrics are critical.
Leaders are recognizing the importance of establishing precise service-level agreements that define performance expectations, timelines, and accountability measures to protect against issues like service disruptions and cyberattacks.
“If we’re not able to implement [it] on time, and it’s because [the vendor’s] team wasn’t ready to go, then maybe our first payment doesn’t start till six weeks later than we planned,” Shannan Bolton, vice president of revenue cycle optimization for Stanford Health, and RevTech attendee explained. “These are the commitments that I’m going to build into those service line agreements.”
Building robust vendor partnerships with clearly defined standards and proactive communication ensures that external solutions genuinely support operational goals, helping to prevent dependency or service shortfalls.
Building Proactive Operations
AI and automation are reshaping revenue cycle operations, pushing organizations to shift from reactive problem-solving to proactive operational strategies.
“[Let’s say] there’s a tool that we have in place, but its [performance] is stagnant. I’m looking for continuous optimization,” Bolton said. “So, I’d look at it holistically: What are they offering or doing for other organizations that our current vendor hasn’t thought of or isn’t moving towards even if the changes are small or in a focused area.”
Pictured: Revenue cycle leaders talk shop at our spring 2024 Revenue Cycle Exchange.
On top of this though, the complexity of implementing AI solutions requires careful planning around governance, decision-making, and collaboration between departments like IT and operations.
Defining governance structures and identifying which teams will drive technological initiatives are critical in aligning AI efforts with organizational goals.
Leaders are increasingly focusing on creating seamless integrations with platforms such as Epic, which enables staff to operate "at the top of their licenses," ensuring that AI and automation solutions bring measurable, sustainable value to the revenue cycle.
Identifying New Opportunities to Improve Efficiency
AI’s potential to streamline workflows and improve payment accuracy is significant, yet identifying high-impact opportunities is essential for success.
Revenue cycle leaders are increasingly using AI to address targeted processes, such as enhancing first-pass claim approval rates and automating account management to reduce manual burdens.
On top of this, a common misconception around AI is that it is self-sufficient once implemented, but there are limitations to the technology which require oversight. For example, Bolton notes that most AI solutions manage simpler tasks, but not middle revenue cycle tasks that require more detail and clinical knowledge.
“That space becomes more complex, and the rules can change often by payer, location, or specialty,” she said.
Technology managing the simpler, repetitive tasks leave staff available to handle more complex tasks, like denials management. However, you can’t successfully implement a new solution without staff support, and leaders must be open and transparent in their conversations and messaging.
“We want our staff to continuously perform at the top of their scale.” Bolton said. “This means proactively developing the staff to upskill them once we bring in AI to perform that more simplistic work.”
When applied thoughtfully, these AI-driven improvements not only boost cash flow but also allow teams to focus on more complex tasks, ultimately contributing to a smoother, more positive patient experience.
Supporting and Preparing Staff
Speaking of staff, as technology transforms revenue cycle processes, it is critical to ensure that employees are supported through this transition.
Automation and AI bring new opportunities, but they also shift traditional roles, making change management a key consideration for revenue cycle leaders.
Encouraging staff to embrace evolving responsibilities and highlighting career development rather than workforce reductions can create a culture of adaptability.
Leaders are focusing on communicating the benefits of these technological changes and holding managers accountable for making full use of new tools.
“From a humanity standpoint, it’s so important,” Bolton said. “Making sure that the staff know we have their best interests at heart, that we’re going to develop you, support your career development, even if that means it’s not in this organization.”
With a well-structured approach, organizations can harness technology to optimize revenue cycle processes while fostering growth and resilience among their teams.
TheHealthLeaders Exchange is an exclusive, executive community for sharing ideas, solutions, and insights. Please join the community at ourLinkedIn page.
To inquire about attending a HealthLeaders Revenue Cycle Exchange event and becoming a member, email us atexchange@healthleadersmedia.com.
Stanford Health Care is prioritizing emergency nurse certification, according to this CNE.
In emergencies, it's important to have the best possible staff in charge of care delivery, and Stanford Health Care is raising the bar with their emergency department nurses.
The Marc and Laura Andreessen Adult and Pediatric Emergency Departments at Stanford Health Care just recently received the 2024 National Certification Champion Award from the Board of Certification for Emergency Nursing (BCEN) in the large healthcare organization category.
Dr. Dale Beatty, senior vice president and chief nurse executive at Stanford Health Care, said the organization is thrilled and honored to have won this award.
"Stanford Health Care is a premier academic medical center, part of Stanford University, which is known for its excellence," Beatty said, "and for nurses, particularly in the emergency department, we feel a deep responsibility to make sure we elevate the practice and the outcomes for our patients within our facility."
According to Beatty, there are several benefits to both patients and other nurses of having certified emergency nurses in the workforce.
"We know that evidence matters in our practice, and we know it produces higher patient outcomes for our patients," Beatty said, "and quite frankly, I think it brings great satisfaction to our nurses as well."
CNOs have the critical job of providing pathways to certification for nurses, and to Beatty, that involves removing barriers and obstacles to find ways to support the nurses' professional development and bring people together to develop the best possible practice environment.
"My goal is always to help support those that are the experts at that bedside, to elevate the practice, and be the best they can be," Beatty said. "That requires providing resources, it also requires having some vision and creating an avenue for people to really facilitate and advance."
Beatty ultimately emphasized the importance of certification for nurses.
"We are looking to elevate certifications, not just in the ED, but across all clinical areas," Beatty said, "because we know what makes a difference."
Pictured: Revenue cycle leaders talk shop at our spring 2024 Revenue Cycle Exchange.