The darkest days of the COVID-19 pandemic may be in the past but staffing continues to be a critical challenge for hospitals nationwide. The following statistics paint a troubling picture.
- 56% of nurses and 48% of physicians report experiencing symptoms of career burnout.
- 48% of nurses express dissatisfaction with staffing levels in hospitals and 63% say they are assigned too many patients.
- A shortage of up to 124,000 physicians is forecast by 2033 and the industry needs to hire 200,000 nurses annually simply to meet the rising demand for healthcare services.
The problem is clear, but what is the root cause of the staffing crunch in healthcare? Likewise, what impacts do burnout and staffing shortfalls have on the quality of patient care? This blog will explore both issues in greater detail.
The Top 5 Reasons for Staffing Shortages in Healthcare
1: The Aging Workforce
Roughly 10,000 Baby Boomers retire each day and many of them are employed by the healthcare industry. When coupled with the rising demand for health services caused by the aging American population, healthcare workers are retiring faster than they can be replaced.
2: Educational Bottlenecks
Educational programs for healthcare careers are capacity-limited and the long training period needed for skilled healthcare workers slows their entry into the workforce.
3: Career Competition
The healthcare industry has earned a reputation for high stress and poor work/life balance, an issue made worse by COVID-19. Many job candidates who would have pursued careers in healthcare a decade ago are choosing to go a different direction now.
4: Financial Pressure
Hospitals and health systems are struggling with the reality that the cost of delivering care often exceeds the reimbursement received. This financial pressure, in turn, makes it difficult to increase wages for healthcare workers at a time when higher pay could help offset the headwinds faced by hiring managers.
5: The COVID-19 Hangover
COVID-19 is no longer the top story on the nightly news but its impact continues to reverberate throughout the healthcare industry. It’s estimated that 18% of all healthcare workers quit their jobs during the peak of the pandemic and that talent has not been fully replaced. Furthermore, COVID-19 has exacerbated the problems listed above as the prolonged stress of the pandemic contributes to burnout and turnover rates years later.
The Top 3 Impacts on the Quality of Care
1: The Patient Experience
Rush hour traffic offers an analogy to the current state of the patient experience in healthcare. When more cars attempt to fill the same number of traffic lanes, commute times increase. Close a traffic lane and the problem intensifies.
In the healthcare industry, more patients are now seeking care while fewer doctors, nurses and aides are available to help them. As a result, patient wait times are increasing while face-time with providers is decreasing. Both of these erode patient satisfaction.
It’s also important to note the fiscal impact of reduced patient satisfaction on the hospital itself. Since healthcare reimbursement models such as Medicaid are tied to Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) scores, hospitals are likely to suffer financially as wait times grow and face-time wanes.
2: Treatment Errors
Several studies have shown a connection between physician burnout and adverse patient outcomes in the form of diagnosis errors and other mistakes. At the same time, limited face-time with patients is believed to lead to avoidable oversights in treatment and medication plans.
3: Infection Risk
Hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) are an ongoing concern for the industry with more than 3% of U.S. hospitals having at least one HAI on any given day according to the CDC. Overworked healthcare workers assigned too many patients are more likely to deviate from infection protocols, leading to more HAIs.
iMedHealth From Taylor Healthcare
Taylor Healthcare has created a suite of digital technologies we call iMedHealth. All are designed to engage patients and minimize risk for healthcare organizations.
- Hospitals can capture patient signatures on mobile devices, including the patient’s own cell phone, by using iMedEngage.
- Patients are empowered review and sign standardized consent forms for procedures on their personal mobile devices, thanks to iMedConsent™.
- Hospital staff are able to print color-coded lab and pharmacy labels on demand via Taylor Healthcare’s iMedColorRx color digital printing technology.
- Hospital staff can continue to access, create and print the critical documents needed to deliver care during unplanned system outages — such as ransomware attacks — simply by logging in to iMedDowntime.
- Digitizing and automating clinical forms with iMedAutomate can reduce the time clinicians spend locating and updating important documentation tools.
Contact your Taylor Healthcare representative to learn more about the range of digital communication solutions available to you through iMedHealth.
