What is an MSP in Healthcare?
A Managed Services Provider (MSP) helps healthcare organizations manage their temporary workforce by acting as an outsourced service that organizes and oversees these staff members. This article, the first in a three-part series, explains what an MSP is in healthcare workforce management, different MSP models, and the key benefits it brings to health systems.
Understanding an MSP in Healthcare Workforce Management
An MSP in healthcare workforce management traditionally handles all aspects of contingent workforce operations. This includes requisitions, interviews, hiring, onboarding, invoicing, payments, and analyzing program trends. By outsourcing these functions to healthcare MSP companies, facilities can focus on their core mission—providing exceptional patient care—while ensuring their staffing needs are efficiently met.
The Three Core Components of an MSP: Sourcing Strategy, Program Services, and Technology
An MSP program has three main parts: sourcing strategy, program services, and technology. MSPs improve workforce efficiency and decision-making by simplifying supplier management, increasing visibility, reducing risks, and ensuring compliance through centralized technology and services.
1) MSP Sourcing Strategies
The right MSP offers different staffing strategies tailored to your needs, such as a master supplier model where the MSP acts as the main provider of temporary staff, a vendor-neutral model that gives equal access to all staffing agencies, or a hybrid model that combines both. Each approach has its advantages, making it essential for healthcare organizations to work closely with their MSP partner to choose the strategy that best aligns with their goals.
2) Key MSP Program Services
The right MSP can set itself apart and become essential to healthcare organizations by providing customized services that add real value. Acting as a strategic partner, the MSP tailors its approach to align with the specific needs of each organization.
Effective services include managing the entire temporary workforce process—handling compliance, reducing risks, overseeing suppliers, and ensuring clinical quality. An MSP adapts its services to tackle each healthcare provider’s unique challenges, upholding high standards while reducing administrative work.
3) The Role of Technology in MSP Solutions
At the core of an MSP is a Vendor Management System (VMS), which automates order distribution according to client rules, making it easier to support different staffing strategies and streamline the hiring process.
Alongside the VMS, other technology tools enhance the MSP program. Advanced market analysis platforms give hiring managers real-time data on trends, pricing, and open positions, helping them make smarter hiring decisions. MSPs also use data analytics and forecasting tools for workforce planning, improving scheduling and resource allocation.
For healthcare organizations, however, it's critical to emphasize technology built specifically for the industry's unique needs. From regulatory compliance and credentialing to managing fluctuating patient volumes and specialized clinical skill sets, healthcare's complexities require tools designed to address these nuances, ensuring a more effective and compliant staffing process.
Overall, technology in MSPs simplifies operations, reduces reliance on external agencies, and automates workforce management, leading to greater efficiency and clinician engagement with predictive scheduling and AI tools.
Benefits of Utilizing an MSP
There are several benefits for utilizing a healthcare workforce
- Reduced administrative burden through centralized labor spend management, streamlined supplier coordination, and automated requisition approvals.
- Bill rate controls to ensure competitive pricing, reduce overages, and manage costs effectively, driving significant savings.
- Comprehensive spend analysis to identify inefficiencies, optimize resource allocation, and maximize workforce investments.
- Access to a vast network of clinicians to quickly and efficiently fill critical roles with qualified professionals.
- Mitigating risk with seamless access to contingent labor to address staffing shortages and maintain operational continuity.
- Enhanced visibility and control of workforce management across the enterprise, supported by continuous improvement strategies.
Expert Workforce Solutions with Data-Driven Insights
An MSP offers the advantage of an experienced partner. With years of expertise in managing temporary staff, companies like AMN Healthcare provide insights to help healthcare facilities handle staffing complexities and achieve high performance.
A skilled MSP is essential for healthcare workforce management. By providing customized solutions, broad networks, and advanced technology, MSPs enable healthcare organizations to enhance patient care and improve efficiency. This partnership fosters excellence, innovation, and growth. Whether you’re considering MSP options or looking for top staffing partners, the right MSP can greatly strengthen your organization’s capabilities.
