The Baby Boomer Healthcare Crisis
The era of a bountiful number of healthcare workers is at an end. Baby boomers comprise nearly 25 percent of the United States’ population. With an additional 37 million seniors by the year 2030, healthcare facilities need to prepare for a pending human resources crisis. Currently, the majority of healthcare workers are baby boomers. For example, the average age of registered nurses is 47 and the majority of senior management of hospitals are older boomers. By 2010, the U.S. Department of Labor expects 10 million more jobs than workers, with the shortage moving towards the skilled positions. Healthcare managers will face issues with staffing and training. How the healthcare system deals with the flow of professionals, technicians, and managers from this generation will determine its future economic viability and whether it can meet the needs of baby boomers.
Four Strategic Responses to the Pending Dearth of Healthcare Workers
- Focus on Retention
- Re-design Jobs
- Embrace IT Capabilities
- Transform “Virtual Care”
In the past, employees were looked upon as replaceable “spare parts” due to a bountiful workforce. This mentality needs to change due to the high rate of boomers retiring. To curtail the crisis, healthcare administrators need to focus on retention. Today, the cost of replacing an experienced nurse averages around six figures per nurse and the cost will only increase. The “spare part” mentality is not viable anymore.
Slowing the exit of boomers from the workforce requires re-designing work roles for them. Managers in the field need to accommodate boomer employees who want to work less than full time and workers who request an odd schedule (i.e. two months off). Accommodating to their needs will retain the workers’ knowledge and experience and improve the facility’s culture.
By embracing and implementing IT protocol such as digital clinical software, healthcare facilities see greater efficiency, fewer errors, and decreased stress and turnover among employees. IT capabilities can eliminate mistakes and improve scheduling and documentation efficiency.
The increase in remote monitoring and managing patients due to IT usage will dramatically enhance the ability to coordinate nursing and physician care. Also, improvements in workforce productivity are necessary to face the challenges of tomorrow.
Raising the Bar in Healthcare
The United States’ healthcare system is in crisis. For example, the U.S. ranks at the bottom for healthy life expectancy and last on infant mortality according to “Healthcare Trends and Implications.” The average adult has only a slightly better than 50-50 chance of receiving recommended medical care. Minorities receive an even lower quality of care.
What can be done? What is to come in the future? Here is a list of five things that will come to fruition in healthcare over the next five years:
An improved set of standardized measures for performance assessment that covers a wide array of clinical conditions, care settings, and aspects of quality.
More Pay for Performance for hospitals and physicians.
Increased accreditation and professional certification standards and requirements, mandating quality at the institutional and practitioner levels.
A consumer-friendly approach informing patients about providers when they are making decisions about from whom seek care.
More public ownership in the healthcare system through public reporting of providers and physicians.
What Can Healthcare Leaders Do?
Hospital and health system leaders need to prepare to manage, ensure, and document quality of care due to increased concerns in patient quality and safety. Here are three strategies to assist hospital and health system leaders respond to the changing environment:
- Strengthen partnerships with physicians.
- Understand and manage the link between quality and financial performance.
- Offer Electronic Patient Health Records.
As physicians face increased strains including reduced Medicare Fees and Pay for Performance, it is more important than ever to tighten relationships with them to increase care coordination and improve system performance.
Patients are becoming increasingly savvy shoppers of healthcare, balancing cost and quality considerations. The availability and use of public reporting, Pay for Performance, and health plan benefit design has the strength to increase market share.
Patient Health Record (PHR) is an interactive tool supporting and streamlining the care delivery process. By implementing PHR overlay, families and patients can keep up with preventative health services such as care reminders and tracking of health behaviors and symptoms. PHRs must be available to everyone.