Ensuring quality, safe patient care depends on staffing adequacy. With recent challenges in cost management, inefficiency, recruitment, and retention, it has become harder for providers and facilities to meet patient care quality goals. Read on to learn about the employment problems facilities face, the importance of proper healthcare staffing, and best practices for human resource management in medical facilities.
Staffing Challenges Faced by Healthcare Organizations
With an increase in patient demand brought on by the pandemic, healthcare facilities are struggling to maintain adequate staffing levels. Problems have arisen due to challenges like:
- Studies predict that staffing shortages will increase to hundreds of thousands of providers across all areas of healthcare. While staffing shortfalls are high in rural and underserved areas, assistance from CHG Healthcare can resolve many issues.
- Healthcare staffing turnover is at about 15%, with higher departure rates in some specialties and geographic areas. Constant turnover contributes to staffing instability as new team members are constantly onboarded and let go.
- Workflow inefficiency. Manual scheduling on spreadsheets and other antiquated tools is common, but it decreases productivity and wastes time that could be spent on patient care.
- A lack of visibility. Most healthcare facilities lack insight into their staffing needs, which affects their ability to adjust schedules quickly. With locum tenens staffing, offices and hospitals will gain greater transparency and visibility in staffing and resource management.
- Rising labor costs. Facilities’ inability to match staffing levels with patient requirements results in high overtime and the misuse of skilled labor, which creates budgetary shortfalls.
- Staff disengagement. Chaotic schedules, chronic shortages, unsustainable workloads, and burnout affect staff engagement. As staff become apathetic, they may resign in search of a fairer work-life balance.
- Stricter regulations. Stringent staffing requirements are enacted regularly, making management complex and jeopardizing patient satisfaction, safety, and care quality.
Innovative workforce management strategies and staffing assistance can help healthcare facilities navigate these challenges.
Why Healthcare Staffing Matters
Nurses, assistants, and other team members ensure patient safety by reducing infection risk, increasing satisfaction, and shortening inpatient stays. Today’s healthcare team members perform functions such as:
- Moving patients
- Gathering supplies
- Taking vital signs
- Helping colleagues with procedures
These skills are typically acquired through comprehensive healthcare education programs, and facilities need adequately skilled staff to ensure patient safety and care efficiency.
The Effects of Staffing Levels on Care Quality
Research completed over the last few years confirms a direct link between facility staffing levels and patient outcomes, including those listed below.
- In-facility infections. Studies show that hospitals with adequate staffing have lower rates of conditions like sepsis, pneumonia, and urinary tract infection, even after patient risk levels are considered.
- Patient-perceived satisfaction. High staffing ratios result in better care experiences as recounted by patients, including clearer communication, faster responses, education on follow-up care, and willingness to recommend facilities to others.
- Facilities with low professional-to-patient ratios also have low readmission rates among mental health, surgical, and medical patients. Adequate staffing reduces costs and improves the value of care.
- Effective staffing reduces rates of adverse events, including respiratory failure and bedsores, which affect costs and patient recovery.
- Medical mistakes. Units with low patient-to-professional ratios have fewer medication errors, patient falls, and preventable injuries.
- Burnout among providers. Adequate staffing creates job satisfaction among care providers, while unmanageable workloads lead to cynicism, apathy, and emotional exhaustion.
Further on in our guide, we’ll offer a few tips on improving care quality through effective staffing.
Staffing Shortages and Effects on Patients
Nurses, doctors, and assistants provide safe care and keep patients satisfied. As they’re in contact with patients 24 hours a day, seven days a week, they’re usually the first to spot emerging problems.
When healthcare providers are overworked and understaffed, they tend to limit the time spent with individual patients. They end up working longer hours, leading to burnout and exhaustion.
Staffing shortages have equally detrimental effects on patients and their satisfaction. When providers must limit the time spent with individuals because of staffing shortfalls, it can result in low-quality care and patient dissatisfaction. These problems are likely to continue as the healthcare workforce approaches retirement age.
Optimizing Staffing: Tips for Success
Hospitals, doctor’s offices, and other facilities can optimize staffing with flexible scheduling, suitable professional-to-patient ratios, and offering continuing education opportunities. With the following strategies, facility managers will improve patient satisfaction and safety while contributing to the quality of care.
- Improving provider-to-patient ratios: The ratio of staff to patients affects care quality and safety. High staffing ratios are linked to better patient outcomes, including reduced mortality. Conversely, low ratios affect patient care by creating unsustainable workloads, exhaustion, and stress among providers.
- Flexible scheduling: With flexible scheduling, healthcare providers have more control and autonomy because they can fit work into their lives. The approach improves healthcare job satisfaction, allowing providers to strike a work-life balance while decreasing turnover and burnout.
- Allowing providers to further their education: Ongoing training is essential for healthcare providers who must keep up with industry advancements while delivering high-quality care. Nurses, for example, must take part in continuing education every two to three years, with time requirements varying by location. Continuing education courses cover many topics, from health promotion to professional development. By attending conferences, working in different settings, and taking online classes, providers can advance their careers and improve patient outcomes.
These strategies allow facilities and managers to improve staffing ratios and offer higher-quality care to patients. With these tips, managers can care for providers without adversely affecting patient outcomes.
The Future of Healthcare Staffing and Patient Care: Decisive Action Will Minimize the Effects of Provider Shortages
Healthcare staffing shortages have gotten worse since the pandemic, and the issue is likely to persist for the foreseeable future. Staffing deficits affect patient satisfaction, safety, care quality, and outcomes.
As healthcare providers leave the field because of burnout and retirement, facilities must find innovative solutions to staffing shortfalls. With advocacy, education, and on-demand staffing via locum tenens assignments, hospitals and other facilities can improve patient safety and offer higher-quality care.
