Among the immediate challenges facing U.S. healthcare, the physician shortage stands out as a critical issue requiring innovative solutions. A recent report from the Association of American Medical Colleges projects that the national physician shortage could reach up to 86,000 by 2036. Burnout, exacerbated by the pandemic, a large number of physicians on the brink of retirement, limited medical school enrollment, and population growth are all impacting the supply and demand of physicians.
As talent shortages continue for the next few years, health systems will be locked in a war for talent and compete against each other on price, a game that will be lost. However, in this age of remarkable technological advancements, workforce management technology offers a ray of hope for health systems by providing insights into utilization and staffing data, enabling health systems to better understand staffing constraints and efficiently optimize their workforce.
The impact of the physician shortage on the industry as a whole
Leaders are under immense pressure to reduce costs, increase operational efficiency, and improve patient care. Addressing the physician shortage is the answer to the growing challenges facing many aspects of the healthcare delivery system.
First, a scarce physician population translates into longer wait times, delayed diagnoses, and limited access to specialty care for patients. This problem is exacerbated in rural communities, which face additional challenges such as fewer facilities and limited access to specialists, contributing to growing health disparities in underserved communities.
Addressing physician shortages is also important to maintaining the overall quality of healthcare services. With fewer physicians to meet patient demand, overworked and stressed healthcare workers can suffer from burnout, lower job satisfaction, and poorer quality patient care. Ensuring sufficient physician availability allows healthcare facilities to ease the strain on existing staff, promote a healthier work-life balance, and maintain excellent patient care standards.
The physician shortage also has broad implications for the sustainability of the healthcare system. As demand for healthcare services continues to grow, especially as the population ages and chronic diseases rise, a physician shortage can strain healthcare resources and drive up costs. This will have ripple effects across the economy, impacting productivity and healthcare costs, which are expected to reach $7.2 trillion by 2031, according to estimates by the CMS Office of the Actuary.
The role of talent management technology in solving the talent shortage
With physician shortages a major pain point in the industry, workforce management technology can play a key role by providing standardized, accessible data that allows healthcare organizations to effectively manage labor costs, healthcare worker performance, and capacity. For example, using advanced algorithms to optimize schedules can efficiently allocate available physicians and plan future staffing needs 12 months or more, minimizing coverage gaps and maximizing productivity. By automating the scheduling process and considering factors such as healthcare worker preferences, patient demand, and clinical requirements, modern workforce management solutions can help healthcare organizations make the most of their existing physician workforce and plan well in advance for future staffing needs that come with long hiring cycles.
Increased efficiency is another key benefit of deploying this type of technology to address staffing challenges. With features like automatic shift swaps, real-time updates, and mobile access, technology streamlines communication and coordination among care teams. This reduces administrative burdens, eliminates scheduling conflicts, enables seamless collaboration, and allows physicians to focus more of their time and energy on patient care rather than administrative tasks.
Finally, workforce management technologies improve work-life balance. These solutions help improve job satisfaction and retention among healthcare professionals by promoting flexible and autonomous schedule management and reducing physician burnout. This contributes to a more sustainable and resilient healthcare workforce, lowering turnover and mitigating the impact of physician shortages on the delivery of patient care.
One piece of the puzzle is complete, but more work is needed.
As the healthcare industry continues to face talent shortage challenges for years to come, technology like this will be a critical resource for healthcare organizations and hospitals, but it’s only one piece of the puzzle. The effects of the pandemic continue to ripple throughout the industry as healthcare workers leave the field and new professionals feel uneasy about joining the workforce.
Despite efforts to increase medical school enrollment, factors such as faculty shortages, funding constraints, and accreditation requirements continue to limit the number of students that can be accepted. This limits the growth of the physician workforce and contributes to the physician shortage.
That being said, workforce management technology can help fill gaps for healthcare organizations that are understaffed, while also making organizations more attractive to younger generations by offering schedule flexibility and autonomy in participation, beginning to level the workforce.
Patrick Hunt is a physician executive.