Many people with kidney failure need dialysis to survive, but 20% of patients at one of UVA’s clinics failed to show up for treatment. Nursing Professor Richard Ridge knew one possible fix for that problem, but it would require an investment.
“What if the organization provided Uber rides for the patients to come to dialysis?" he wondered. "Cost-analysis of that as completed by one of my students showed there was a positive benefit to that.”
With the no-show rate dropping to two percent, the medical center could bill insurance or government programs for more patients, and if the patient would not be coming, the Uber driver provided a valuable service to the clinic.
“The Uber shows up for that patient, and then – 'Oh, it’s time for my appointment,' and if they don’t show up, the clinic gets a heads up that they’re not coming, and they can slide the next patient in rather than waiting an additional 20-minutes,” he explains.
Nursing Professor Beth Quartrara adds this approach was also beneficial to patients.
“Usually, when we’re doing the right thing for our patients, we are improving the bottom line.”
The same can be said for screening patients before surgery to prevent expensive problems afterward.
“Identifying patients who are at risk for diabetes or may have pre-diabetes, because healing in a diabetic patient is very complicated, so we want to make sure we’re on top of it so we can prevent complications,” Quartrara explains.
And she points to programs that help prevent injury on the job. A penny spent now can prevent a pound of suffering and expense.
“We’re bringing in new equipment, new supplies. When you think about the cost to a team member injury – not only the cost of treating the injury of an employee but the time missed from work, the need to then bring in an additional employee to cover that shift. Anything that we can do to reduce team member injuries at the end of the day probably does save us.”
But to sell their ideas to management, she argues, it’s important to speak in financial terms.
“Everything involves the dollar, and healthcare is a business, and not only do we want our nurses to recognize that it’s a business, we want them to think about the. To really understand the dollar helps us to make the case for it.”
If they can help to lower costs while improving health, she and Ridge agree nurses can preserve limited resources and make care available to more people. That’s why they’re incorporating healthcare financing into the nursing school curriculum.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
