Hospital CEOs had a lot to be concerned about last year, but personnel shortages ranked No. 1 on their list, according to new survey results from the American College of Healthcare Executives.
It’s the first time since 2004 that hospital leaders did not consider financial challenges as their most pressing issue, ACHE said Feb. 4. Cost concerns came in second while patient safety and quality were listed third.
Workforce shortages did rank No. 2 in 2019 and No. 3 in 2018, but easily beat out financial challenges in ACHE’s 2021 survey.
“Both long- and short-term solutions are needed to address the shortages in critical front-line staff shown in our study to ensure hospitals have workforces that can meet the demands for safe, high-quality care both today and in the future,” President and CEO of the college Deborah J. Bowen said.
More than 300 community hospital CEOs, who are also ACHE members, ranked 11 issues as part of the survey. An overwhelming majority of leaders pointed to a need for registered nurses (cited by 94%), followed by technicians (85%), therapists (67%), primary care physicians (45%), physician specialists (43%) and physician extenders (31%).
“Longer term solutions include increasing the pipeline of staff to these positions, as well as organization-level efforts to increase staff retention,” Bowen added in a statement. “More immediate solutions include supporting and developing all staff, building staff resilience and exploring alternative models of care.”
In terms of financial hurdles, CEOs most often worried about increasing costs for things such as staff and supplies (87% of respondents), followed by reducing operating costs (53%), Medicaid reimbursement (52%) and commercial insurance payments (44%), among many other concerns.
Additionally, nearly half of execs said the high price of medications/low reimbursement for drugs was their top quality concern (45%). Improving the culture of quality/safety followed closely behind (44%), along with redesigning care processes (44%).
Physician shortages are projected to rise to between 54,000 and 139,000 by 2033, with the pandemic only speeding up this process. Some experts say other providers are willing and able to step up and fill this gap, including pharmacists, but that remains to be seen.
The Biden administration has also tried to alleviate the problem by committing more than $100 million to address burnout and workforce shortages.
Matt joined Chicago’s TriMed team in 2018 covering all areas of health imaging after two years reporting on the hospital field. He holds a bachelor’s in English from UIC, and enjoys a good cup of coffee and an interesting documentary.