Using the Workload Indicators of Staffing Need (WISN) – method to asses HR requirements and optimize processes in health care

¹ Dresden International University (DIU), Dresden, Germany
² APOLLON University of Applied Science GmbH, Bremen, Germany

Abstract

Changing market conditions and increasingly scarce human resources require health care providers to analyze, review, and constantly adjust their processes within their healthcare facilities. A personnel requirement assessment based on the WISN method has proven to be a useful instrument for personnel planning, but also for identifying potential for improvement and process optimization. Based on a mixed method approach, using a systematic literature review, focus group-based experts discussions and interviews the WISN – method was applied to calculate human resource needs for a neurology team of therapists in a general hospital in Germany. Furthermore, the study intended to identify concrete measures for optimization. The results show that it is possible to calculate the required personal resources using the WISN-Method. Additionally, three support activities (daily documentation, weekly documentation, and scheduling) which, at 5.5 hours/week per therapist, tie up considerable working time could be identified. After implementing the optimization measures, a maximum of 1.36 full-time equivalents (FTE) therapists out of a team of 9.51 FTEs therapists could be saved or used for value-adding other health activities. It can be concluded that WISN is a good way to calculate Human Resource (HR) requirements and can help to increase transparency and efficiency in health care.