How Can Nurses Reduce Healthcare Costs?

How can nurses reduce healthcare costs

There is no doubt in saying that nurses play a very vital role in the healthcare field. They are always in the front row when it comes to treating and due to this, nurses influence healthcare costs in many ways.

Nurses are one of the most important assets in the healthcare industry.

They don’t only provide high-quality patient care but they also provide a vision to find a cost-saving measure to minimize wastage.

So if you want to know more about how can nurses reduce healthcare costs, then this article will provide you all the important information.

As you know that the medical treatments are very expensive and even a regular trip to the hospital can cost a lot.

There are many people who suffer from chronic diseases, which not only impacts their emotional and physical health but it can also result in increased medical bills.

Nurses are proven to reduce patient hospitalization. They can also help in decreasing the ER visits and the length of the stay period at different medical facilities.

This helps in cutting down the healthcare costs for patients as well as taxpayers and institutions.

A study done in Nursing Economics in 2009 found that nurse-led care was connected with reduced drug cost for patients that are in acute-care settings.

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They cut down the cost by a good margin of patients’ visits across various healthcare facilities.

So after talking about the fundamental details, it’s time to put some light on the other ways how nurse practitioners influence healthcare costs.

How can nurses help reduce healthcare costs?

How can nurses help reduce healthcare costs

Let’s divide this into how can nurses reduce healthcare costs in five different sectors.

1. Nurses can carry out the treatment without the supervision of physicians

Nurse practitioners are highly educated and they are also trained to practice without the need for physician supervision.

This means that they can carry out the treatments without the requirement of collaborative agreements, chart reviews, and many other mandates that increase the duration and cost of the treatments.

This is the reason why many states have granted full practice authority to nurse practitioners.

This means that now patients can get in touch with the nurse practitioners easily and consume all the services in which they are trained.

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This won’t only improve the quality of healthcare but it can also help people save money on expensive hospital visits.

2. Nurses are trained to manage complex health conditions

The number of people with complex illnesses is increasing day by day and these kinds of chronic illnesses like heart disease and diabetes are some of the major cost drives in the healthcare industry.

Nurses are educated and trained from professional and licensed universities.

And they mainly focus on a specialized area from the first day of their academic training.

That’s why nurse practitioners can manage complex health conditions better than professionals from medical schools, which start the graduation without providing basic health care education.

Nurse practitioners hold expertise in basic patient care and healthcare education, which is very important to treat people with chronic illnesses.

Apart from this, clinic nurses can also function as office managers, which orders monitoring stocks and supplies.

Due to this, they can help patients in primary care save money by avoiding repetition of the unrequired preventive care such as imaging and vaccines.

3. Nurses treat the whole patient

Hospital bed

Nurses do not only just diagnose or treat the patients but they also address all the problems that the patient is facing.

And based on that information, they provide extensive medical support.

It does not only includes prescribing medicines, but they also counsel the patients about the diet and exercise that can help the patient recover better and address all the potential issues that can affect the patient’s progress.

This helps in reducing the extra medical costs as well as unnecessary trips to the medical facilities.

4. Nurses are well-liked by the patients

As compared to the other healthcare providers, nurses are more liked and trusted by the patients and they also provide more customer satisfaction.

According to a study in 2011, 80% of the patient felt that their nurse practitioner always listened carefully, whereas this percentage for physician providers was only 50.

Trust is one of the most important factors that make sure the patients are engaging in healthcare properly.

Along with this, it also encourages the patients to attend the scheduled checkup and treatment plans, which is important for healthcare quality and cost-efficiency.

5. Nurses are more patient-centered

How do nurses reduce healthcare costs

The last step on how can nurses reduce healthcare costs.

One of the best things about nurse practitioners is that they are patient-centered and due to this, they can manage complex conditions better and treat the patient more effectively.

Nurses spend more time with their patients that help in maintaining trust and reliability, which is very important for better diagnosis.

This patient-centered nature of nurses’ leads to longer appointments, which gives patients the freedom to ask more questions and also helps the nurses provide counseling and education.

These factors have proven to provide better results and reduce extra costs in the current healthcare environment.

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In the past few years, the percentage of nurse practitioners has increased drastically, which is very good for the healthcare industry because the services that nurses provide are the need of the current healthcare environment.

Along with this, nurses are only one that keeps patients healthier.

Conclusion: How can nurses reduce healthcare costs?

So these were some reasons how can nurses reduce healthcare costs.

Nurse practitioners have gained a lot of popularity in recent years and all credit goes to their patient-centered nature of training.

Nurses can reduce healthcare costs by providing information regarding unnecessary medications and treatments.

They are very diligent at documenting the symptoms and the progress of the patients, which can be very useful in clinical decision-making.

Nurse practitioners also have specialized knowledge of inpatient care that plays an important role in managing complex illnesses.

They don’t only diagnose the patients but they also provide knowledge and counseling, which can make the recovery faster and reduce the medical bills.

Hope this article will solve some of your doubts and give you some valuable information about how can nurses reduce healthcare costs.

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About Ida Koivisto, BSN, RN, PHN

Ida is both a registered nurse and public health nurse. Her passion is to provide as much valuable information about nursing to the world as possible. In her spare time from work and blogging, Ida loves to work out at the gym and spend time with relatives.