U.S. hospitals are consistently looking for ways to cut costs as they deal with financial pressures, such as less federal reimbursements.
Here are five ways that hospitals can save money, according to a Healthcare Global report.
1. Employee wellness programs. This helps offsets the cost of employee healthcare coverage.
2. Motion sensor lighting and LED bulbs. This helps save energy costs.
3. Paperless records. This not only helps save money on paper, ink, printing and filing, but also "increases filing and patient record efficiency."
4. Solar energy. Hospitals are using solar panels to power all or part of their facilities.
5. Standardized patient care. "Many hospitals are cutting operating costs by encouraging their physicians to standardize patient care procedures. This includes following protocol when it comes to testing and checkups," according to the report. "Standardized care eliminates unnecessary health care procedures, which saves the hospital money on staff costs and saves patients money on general healthcare costs."