Overcoming Healthcare Staffing Shortages: Why a Managed Service Provider Is Necessary
The healthcare industry has always dealt with staffing shortages, but in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, staffing shortages have been brought to the forefront.
As demand for healthcare services increases and staff members feel the strain, finding qualified professionals to fill critical positions is absolutely necessary.
What can organizations do to address the challenge as healthcare staffing shortages persist into the foreseeable future?
We’re exploring what’s happening with healthcare staffing shortages. Learn how partnering with the right managed service providers can help your healthcare facility meet your needs to provide the best care to patients and the best environment for your providers.
Table of Contents
- Healthcare Staffing Shortages: What’s Driving the Issue?
- What’s Being Done To Manage Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
- 7 Benefits of Using a Managed Service Provider (MSP) To Help With Healthcare Staffing Shortages
- Overcome Healthcare Staffing Shortages With Trusted Managed Services on Your Side
Healthcare Staffing Shortages: What’s Driving the Issue?
Healthcare staffing shortages have become a major issue over the last several years and are only expected to get worse throughout the next decade.
In 2022 alone, 1.7 million healthcare professionals quit their jobs.
Research also suggests that up to 47% of healthcare workers plan to leave their current positions by 2025.
But what’s causing this national shortage? Several factors are at play.
COVID-19 Pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic impacted every aspect of life.
It has been felt through economic impacts, with millions of people losing their jobs and supply chain disruptions causing shortages of critical goods and services, and its social impact affecting our ability to socialize and connect with the people we love.
But the impacts don’t stop there.
The healthcare industry is struggling to overcome the implications of the pandemic.
From an increased demand for healthcare services as surges of COVID-19-related cases occur, to staffing shortages from COVID-19-related issues — contracting the illness, quarantine, and vaccine requirements — the impact has led to a massive strain on healthcare workers and facilities.
The Great Resignation
The “Great Resignation” has significantly impacted the healthcare industry. But what is it?
The term refers to the trend of employees voluntarily leaving their jobs in record numbers.
The Great Resignation has been influenced by a variety of factors:
- Baby boomers reaching retirement age and retiring in record numbers
- Healthcare workers reassessing their priorities
- Critical care healthcare workers feeling a sense of compromised integrity
- Greater desire for work-life balance
- Resisting vaccine mandates
- Lack of medical resources in healthcare facilities
- Decrease in job satisfaction
- The politicization of healthcare decisions, putting a much higher strain on healthcare workers
Work Overload
Burnout in healthcare workers, post COVID-19, has workers leaving jobs to avoid overload and stress. The staffing shortage has increased workloads for remaining staff members and limited the quality of care that patients are receiving.
It’s a revolving door.
Whether because of the pandemic, inadequate pay and benefits, or feeling like healthcare workers aren’t receiving the support they need from leadership, burnout is real. It is preventing healthcare workers from balancing their work and personal lives.
What’s Being Done To Manage Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Virtually every healthcare role is currently in demand, leaving healthcare teams stressed and overworked.
While healthcare facility leaders have reduced open hours when possible, increased wages, and made efforts to attract, train, and retain staff to fill these shortages, they are struggling to stem the tide.
Industry leaders may need to continue to …
- Readjust their thinking
- Evaluate their operations
- Identify their healthcare staff’s hurdles
…. and then integrate and promote the right technology to automate time-consuming tasks.
Doing so is key in improving patient experience and allowing professionals to refocus their energy and time on what they signed up to do in their career — care for patients.
One of the best things healthcare leaders can do for their facilities to combat healthcare staffing shortages is to use a managed service provider (MSP) like Trusted Managed Services.
With the right MSP, as a healthcare facility leader, you can rely on:
- Quicker access to high-quality talent
- Simplified staffing processes
- Reduced vacancy rates
- Increased retention
- And more
Hospitals, and other healthcare facilities, can manage …
- Staffing
- Billing
- Time tracking
… all from a single point of contact, saving time and money while promoting a better workspace for staff.
7 Benefits of Using a Managed Service Provider (MSP) To Help With Healthcare Staffing Shortages
Almost all MSPs manage workforce-related services used by healthcare provider organizations and facilities.A good MSP will streamline the complex processes of hiring, managing, and retaining healthcare staff members.
Every year, the responsibilities of healthcare providers become more and more complex. Ever-evolving regulatory requirements, advancing technology, and extended patient needs make help from managed service providers an absolute must.
But how can a good MSP streamline these processes?
After reading the many benefits, we think you’ll agree — your MSP may be just what your facility needs to overcome staffing shortages.
#1: Identify Potential Candidates Faster
The MSP you choose is like an extension of your healthcare facility — with one goal in mind:
Improving patient experiences and saving your facility time and money.
One of the best ways a managed service provider can do this is by helping ensure that your healthcare facility has access to a pool of potential healthcare workers.
When you choose to work with a managed service provider, like Trusted Managed Services, you’ll gain access to staffing partners throughout the industry. Instead of your human resources department having to sift through thousands of candidates and resumes, your MSP can connect you with candidates that meet your specific requirements and expectations.
When you choose the right MSP, you’ll spend less time finding candidates and more time focusing on your facility’s needs. Your MSP is an easy-to-manage source for finding potential candidates in one centralized location.
#2: Gain Insights on the Most Important Metrics During the Hiring Process
Healthcare facilities need to keep their focus on the quality of care and staying in compliance with regulations.
Although understanding the anticipated spending while trying to overcome any healthcare staffing shortages is vital, oftentimes, human resources directors, directors of nursing, and Chief Operating Officers want to know the how and what — without spending hours analyzing data or crunching numbers.
MSPs can help overcome staffing shortages and ensure that staff has a clear understanding of …
- Any gaps in staffing
- How many hours they need to cover to keep their facility properly staffed
- How much it is going to cost to hire new healthcare providers
… and more.
#3: Increase Efficiency
By being the single point of contact for healthcare facilities and vendors, an MSP can greatly increase efficiency in more ways than one.
With the proper MSP, your healthcare facility becomes more efficient through:
- Automating the hiring processes
- Maintaining compliance processes
- Lowering hiring costs
- Gaining access to greater hiring resources
- Negotiating competitive wages
- Managing risk
- Consolidating billing and invoicing
#4: Spend Less on Temporary Employees
The reliance of healthcare facilities on temporary staffing agencies has increased greatly over the last several years as staffing shortages continue to worsen.
The use of temporary employees is up 132 % — putting a strain on healthcare facilities and their budgets.
While most MSPs help healthcare facilities find temporary employees, Trusted Managed Services takes things a bit further for healthcare facilities.
What do you do when your healthcare facility is introduced to a phenomenal travel nurse and wants to keep them as a staff nurse? With Trusted Managed Services, the transition is easy.
If your travel nurse is a part of the Trusted Nurse Staffing network, after working with your facility for a specified period of time, they can become a permanent employee with your facility. No hoops to jump through, and no fees for transferring.
Trusted Managed Services understands that quality of care matters — and when you find a nurse that meets the needs of your patients, it’s no surprise that you may want to keep them on board.
#5: Stay in Regulatory Compliance
Healthcare facilities can benefit from partnering with MSPs to ensure all technology, security, and processes are in compliance with regulatory requirements like HIPAA.
Don’t risk operational downtime by being better prepared for future audits, avoiding fine lines or penalties, and making more time for your administrative staff. MSPs are versed in standards, compliance laws, and regulations.
Does your MSP help your healthcare facility stay in compliance by:
- Conducting gap assessments?
- Implementing appropriate security measures?
- Providing audit assistance?
If it doesn’t, it is time to consider switching your facility’s MSP.
#6: Facilities Can Focus More on Employee Retention
As turnover rates continue to soar, healthcare facilities must continue looking for ways to offer staff flexibility, and improve staff development and retention rates.
With the proper MSP software, facilities can automate many processes and simplify onboarding processes. Now, nursing directors can focus on helping improve staff development and nurturing patient relationships, and spend less time finding staff members.
Your managed service provider acts as a central resource for your healthcare providers.
Choosing an MSP with clinical expertise — like Trusted Managed Services — can provide you with the most options. They can implement solutions to enhance access to clinical providers and can help you find the best methods to improve processes, services, compliance methods, and retention rates.
#7: Ensure Patient Safety & Enhance Your Healthcare Facility’s Reputation
Improve staffing relationships with various vendors across the nation with the help of your MSP.
Not only does this aid facilities by providing a pool of qualified candidates, but it also helps healthcare facilities remain competitive with improved market rates and enhanced access to suppliers.
Everyone benefits when you have enough satisfied, happy staff members who provide quality care to patients.
Current patients will feel comfortable in your care and more likely to recommend your facility to friends, family members, and colleagues.
When potential patients know your facility is making every effort to provide the best possible care, you’re opening the door to new patient relationships.
Overcome Healthcare Staffing Shortages With Trusted Managed Services on Your Side
While healthcare staffing shortages are a significant challenge for organizations, with an MSP that understands the challenges on your side, like Trusted Managed Services, nursing directors and leaders can focus on providing staff members with the support they need to provide quality care.
By …
- Streamlining the hiring process
- Expanding the talent pool
- Ensuring compliance; and
- Providing workforce management tools
… MSPs provide healthcare facilities with the tools they need to manage their workforce effectively.
Trusted Managed Services offers a comprehensive solution to your facility’s staffing shortages and challenges, and allow your leaders and staff members to get back to doing what they signed up to do — provide quality care and make a positive difference in patients’ lives.
Stop trying to survive healthcare staffing shortages — find an MSP to help your healthcare facility thrive. Request a demo today.
