How can your program save money? By incorporating music therapy! Perhaps you've begun to budget for the new fiscal year and hiring new people or implementing a new program doesn't seem to be feasible. You've done your research and have found the benefits of music therapy are clear, but can these benefits out weigh the cost? Can you improve the quality of care your clients receive while increasing the bottom line?
Music therapy can save you money while improving the quality of care. That's right, it happens every day! Not convinced it can happen for you? While I can't place a dollar amount on implementing a new music therapy program without scheduling a consultation, I can let the numbers in these 4 studies speak for themselves:
1. MUSIC THERAPY CUTS AN AVERAGE OF $10,000 OFF COSTS OF A NICU STAY.
Through a 5-year study in Tallahassee Memorial Hospital, University of Georgia Hospital at Athens, University of North Carolina Medical Center, and Florida Hospital Orlando, the use of PAL™ I (Pacifier Activated Lullaby) has shown it can reduce the length of stay for NICU infants an average of 5 days, which translates into a cost savings of $10,000 or $2,000/day per NICU infant for the facilities which participated in this study.
2. MUSIC THERAPY REDUCES COST PER PATIENT IN HOME HOSPICE BY $2,984 AND INCREASES JOB SATISFACTION.
This study compared the total cost per patient that received standard care versus those who received music therapy as part of their care plan. It found that music therapy reduced costs per patient by $2,984. The program itself cost $3615, resulting in a cost-benefit ratio of .83. When using cost per-patient-day (PPD), the ratio improves to .95.
70% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that the music therapy program increased their job satisfaction, and 80% of the respondents felt that knowing that hospice paid for the music therapy program increased their commitment to the agency. Having a music therapy program present in the workplace may improve employee morale, job satisfaction, and brand loyalty while decreasing employee turnover rate. A reduction in turnover rate may reduce cost of training and other resources.
3. MUSIC THERAPY FOR PROCEDURAL SUPPORT REDUCES COST OF ECHOCARDIOGRAM IN CHILDREN BY $74.24 PER PROCEDURE.
The use of music therapy eliminated the need for sedation of pediatric patients receiving EEG, had a 80.7% success rate for pediatric CT scan without sedation, and 94.1% success rate for other procedures. The total cost per patient without music therapy was $87.45 and $13.21 for patients with music therapy, a saving of $74.24 per procedure. By using a music therapist during the procedure, patients were able to complete echocardiograms without the need for medication and an RN, reducing costs by 85% and saving 184 RN-hours.
If these numbers don't excite you, read this quote from the article:
"The Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh reports conducting an average of 6,000 ECG pediatric (birth, 21 years old) procedures annually (A. Scheve, personal communication, May 15, 2003). With the data collected from this analysis, if even half of the reported cases received music therapy assistance and eliminated the need for sedation and subsequent RN supervision, roughly $228,450.00 could potentially be saved annually"
4. PARTNERS ENJOY 70.1% IN TOTAL SAVINGS (or $17,247) AS A RESULT OF MUSIC THERAPY PROGRAM
For the total expenditure of $57,600, the Florida State University affiliated music therapy/Arts in Medicine protocol in the Tallahassee Memorial Hospital reveal a total outlay for two partners of $17,247, or 70.1% of total savings.
Now you have a big decision to make. Can you afford NOT to hire a music therapist?
To find a music therapist in your area, go to: http://www.cbmt.org/certificant_search
For more information on music therapy, go to the American Music Therapy Association (AMTA) website: musictherapy.org