Recruitment and Retention Project Summary
peachewsrenm_17
HCA459_TrendsintheHealthCareScene_Cox.pptxTrends in the Health Care Scene
Prepared by: Altonice Cox
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Introduction
Following are the major trends that impact employee recruitment and retention in healthcare:
Changes in client characteristics
Regulation of the health care industry
Reimbursement patterns and mandates
Restructuring of health care organizations
Impact of technology
Ongoing social and ethical factors
Prepared by: Altonice Cox
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Changes in client characteristics
The rise of preventative care
Shared decision-making
The explosion of patient-generated health data
Convenience of care
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According to McCracken & Phillips (2017), hospital administrators are often overwhelmed with managing their institutions to take notice of the changes in patient characteristics. When they do, they are largely at a loss on how to meet the changing expectations without risking their employees’ burnout or increasing costs to the organization. One of the current changes in patient characteristics is the need for preventative care. More patients today are looking to lead healthier lifestyles aimed at preventing health issues from occurring. As a result, medical professionals now have new responsibilities of collaborating with other professionals such as psychologists, physical therapists, and nutritionists. Patients are also looking for healthcare that values their resources and time. Most are tired of the regular doctor-patient routine. Further, the advent of medical technology including health apps has made patients more informed. Due to this, patients want to have more say in decisions made about their health. Medical professionals have to give patients more leeway to make decisions regarding their treatment (McCracken & Phillips, 2017).
These new developments mean that healthcare professionals must devise new ways to engage their patients. To serve the changing needs of patients effectively, healthcare personnel need more knowledge and skills. Healthcare administrators have to take their medical personnel through regular training programs to equip them with new skills to handle the changes in the characteristics of their patients. Also, hospitals need to expand their requirements during recruitment drives to ensure they hire individuals who have adequate skills to deal with the modern patient (Leyerle, 2016).
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Regulation of the Health Care Industry
Stringent rules make matters stressful for healthcare workers
Some regulations add complexity to healthcare employee relations
Complying with new regulations is costly to administrators
Pressures of adhering to healthcare regulations are time-consuming for medical staff and lead to their burnout
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Tsekleves & Cooper (2017) point out that the healthcare industry has many regulations. However, although this is a good thing, the pressures that employees undergo to keep up with the rules can be time-consuming and a hurdle to administering patient care. Focusing on regulatory compliance pulls medical staff away from their main responsibility of taking care of patients. Stringent rules such as those contained in the HIPAA add complexity to employee relations. Employees fear violating the regulations as doing so can result in criminal and/or civil penalties. These rules also make it difficult for healthcare administrators as a healthcare organization can also be charged based on violations of its employees. The financial penalties of these violations are dire. According to the American Hospital Association, hospitals, providers, and health systems spend about $39 billion annually to deal with compliance-related administrative tasks.
Employers have to make accommodations to comply with new rulings otherwise they risk making their workplaces a legal minefield especially on matters regarding employment law. Recently, there have been numerous rulings and regulations in this area, which has multiplied hazards for many organizations across different industries. To deal with these hazards, healthcare administrators need to engage employees regularly to devise solutions to these problems collaboratively.
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Reimbursement Patterns and Mandates
Increased number of patients
Increased coding errors
Impacts the distribution of hospital services
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Changes in reimbursement patterns and mandates have enabled more Americans to access quality healthcare. As a result, there has been a sharp increase in the number of patients attending hospitals. Demand for healthcare services has thus increased sharply beyond the capacities of various healthcare institutions. Considering the supply of medical professionals is insufficient, healthcare administrators have had to assign more responsibilities to current employees. This increase in workload has overburdened employees of an industry already leading in employee stress levels, burnout, and turnover rates (Greenwald et al., 2016).
Effective medical billing is crucial for successful reimbursement; however, many hospitals are facing challenges in accurately billing patients and their payers for services rendered. These errors cost facilities significant amounts of revenue, which creates revenue problems. To deal with these errors, administrators have been forced to spend more on staff training to ensure they are up-to-date with reimbursement regulations (McCracken & Phillips, 2017). Also, medical reimbursement has led to an increased demand for some medical services over others. This has put pressure on existing resources; in some instances, employees have to be assigned departments they are not used to due to spikes in demand. This has disrupted their normal work routines thus increasing their stress levels (Greenwald et al., 2016).
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Impact of Technology
Continuous technological changes stress employees
Rapid technological changes make healthcare a challenging environment for employees
The current high level of employee turnover in healthcare is largely attributable to changes in technology
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Although technological changes in healthcare are largely beneficial to the industry, the fast pace of changes strains employees. Employees have to struggle to keep up with different changes. Those who cannot cope with the changes end up resigning from their jobs. As a result, there has been a high rate of turnover in the industry in recent times. According to a 2015 report by the National Healthcare Retention & RN Staffing, Registered Nurses turnover is on the rise. This high rate of turnover puts immense financial pressure on organizations. There has been a rise in employee relation issues such as knowledge drain and larger workloads as remaining workers are forced to cover shifts for those who resign leading to high rates of employee burnout. Currently, the healthcare industry has become one of the most challenging industries for employees and technology is one of the factors that lead to this complexity (Tsekleves & Cooper, 2017). Therefore, hospitals and other healthcare institutions need to use technology responsibly; they have to strike a balance between the push for technological innovation and guaranteeing the wellbeing and satisfaction of their human resources.
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Ongoing Social and Ethical Factors
Equality and diversity
Impact of workforce demographics
Moral distress
Workplace safety and employee wellness
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Rahman (2011) states that many social factors influence a healthcare organization’s HR planning. One of these factors is equality and diversity. If an organization lacks one social group, it should consider ways of opening opportunities to attract the missing social group. As such, the recruitment process of a healthcare organization can be guided entirely by the need to achieve diversity in the workplace. Currently, many employees from the baby boomer generation are retiring and millennials are entering the workforce. These two generations are very different in terms of what motivates them to work; this has forced organizations to device new ways of recruiting these new candidates as well as to motivate them. Also, organizations have to change their work environments to support how this new generation works to enhance their chances of retaining them for the long-term.
Issues such as discrimination in the workplace and other morally difficult situations reduce the productivity employees lower their motivation levels, which affect the quality of care. According to research, moral distress is directly linked to employee burnout, emotional exhaustion, and high turnover rates. Currently, most healthcare employees report experiencing moral distress, which leads some to leave their positions or quit the profession due to unresolved moral issues. Those who decide to stay report high levels of disengagement with their work and emotional withdrawal (McCracken & Phillips, 2017).
To deal with these issues, hospital administrators must be willing to put in place interventions that are tailored to their organization’s unique circumstances. They may include revising policies to address recurring social and ethical issues, a standard process of resolving ethical issues among others. Also, administrators must attend to issues such as staff wellness programs and workplace safety.
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Restructuring of Health Care Organizations
Leaves employees feeling insecure
Restructuring causes anxiety and stress among employees
Restructuring impacts employee well-being negatively
Support should be extended even to employees remaining
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de Jong, et al. (2016) argue that due to financial pressures and various regulatory reforms, healthcare organizations have been looking to consolidate into bigger healthcare systems to lower costs and enhance service delivery. Although restructuring is meant to boost service provision, employees consider it a threat. It causes stress and anxiety among them, as they are not sure of their job security. According to studies, restructuring results in a decline in employee well-being.
Usually, organizations provide support to those employees whose positions become redundant. This form of support should be extended to those employees left behind. Employees need support to deal with the new changes in a healthy manner. For example, administrators should implement participatory interventions aimed at enhancing working conditions and employees’ well-being throughout the restructuring process. Employees should be engaged collaboratively in the design and implementation of the intervention. Upon implementation of the intervention, a review should be conducted to evaluate its success in enhancing employees’ well-being and working conditions.
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Importance of Monitoring the Above Trends for a For-Profit Healthcare Organization
Helps identify problems
Highlights opportunities
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In today’s fast-paced world, like commercial businesses, medical institutions need leaders who have a great understanding of policy issues and their impact on the organizations. These leaders should be able to balance business acumen with medical judgment. Monitoring helps leaders to highlight any issues the organization may be facing before they escalate. Failure to monitor the industry means that some anomalies may go undetected thus costing the organization heavily. Monitoring helps point out the root causes of various issues enabling an organization to fix them early. Effective monitoring may also highlight opportunities an organization can take advantage of to expand (McCracken & Phillips, 2017).
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References
de Jong, T., Wiezer, N., de Weerd, M., Nielsen, K., Mattila-Holappa, P., & Mockałło, Z. (2016). The impact of restructuring on employee well-being: a systematic review of longitudinal studies. Work & Stress, 30(1), 91-114.
Greenwald, A. S., Bassano, A., Wiggins, S., & Froimson, M. I. (2016). Alternative reimbursement models: bundled payment and beyond: AOA critical issues. JBJS, 98(11), e45.
Leyerle, B. (2016). The private regulation of American health care. Routledge.
McCracken, K., & Phillips, D. R. (2017). Global health: An introduction to current and future trends. Routledge.
Rahman, R. (2011). The impacts of demographics on health and healthcare: race, ethnicity, and other social factors. Culture, Health & Sexuality, 13(10), 1223-1225. doi:10.1080/13691058.2011.613197
Tsekleves, E., & Cooper, R. (Eds.). (2017). Design for health. Taylor & Francis.
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