If there’s one thing the UK is proud of above all else, it’s the NHS. Providing medical services to everyone across the country when they need it, it’s something we’ve all used at some point in our lives.
Always in the news too, it was recently announced that the NHS was to deliver £22 billion in efficiency savings, in order to secure the best value for NHS services. These are obviously huge savings, and although you may be shocked, you need to remember that the NHS is still a business.
That’s why it’s important to look at the NHS as such, especially if you run a business. In fact, there are things business owners can learn from the NHS when it comes to lowering costs, and managing efficiency, which we’ve outlined below.
Records
One thing the NHS uses is electronic patient records. These allow the NHS to access records wherever and whenever they want. It also allows them to keep them updated and share them easily with other medical professionals. One great thing about these is there’s no worry of having to wait hours or days for medical records, or have the worry of someone forgetting to add something to them, or something getting misread. This makes them perfect for all businesses, as you’ll be able to access important records instantly, helping to free up plenty of time.
Staffing Costs
Sometimes, businesses need extra manpower, and the NHS is no exception. One thing they’ve done to save on money is clamp down on temporary staffing costs. They did this by applying caps on hourly rates and using mandatory pricing frameworks. In other words, if your business needs contractors, provide a pricing framework to them that works for you, rather than having one dictated to you, in order to save yourself money.
Demands
When it comes to demand, the NHS has a lot on its plate. However, if someone’s dictating a demand and quota that they have no idea about, meeting it will be hard, which is why the NHS has switched it up and had manageable quotas for different areas, which makes them much more manageable. This can apply to all businesses, because a one size fits all quota won’t work for all departments or locations, meaning everything should be judged on a case by case basis within your business.
Best Value
Finally, finding the right value for everything is important. The NHS do this by getting the best value out of medicine and pharmacies. With around £16 billion of spending on drugs each year, making sure they get more for thier money is key. Any business can learn from this, ensuring they don’t buy supplies without shopping around or striking up a better deal before signing.
Henry Lares is still early into his career as tech reporter but has already had his work published in many major publications including Tech Crunch and the Huffington Post. In regards to academics, Henry earned an engineering degree from Apex Technical School. Henry has a passion for emerging technology and covers upcoming products and breakthroughs in science and tech.