Since the Affordable Care Act has been instituted, more people have
the ability to have access to health coverage. Therefore increase the
demand for health services. However, there is an issue that also
arose, the increase in people retiring and medical professionals
suffering from burnout. Research estimates that burnout cost the
health care system about $4.6 billion a year before the spread of
COVID-19. More aging health care workers are retiring and the
administration has difficulty finding their replacements. These
factors have affected the ability of administrators to manage staffing
accordingly in many departments. In addition, the ability to find
skilled qualified workers has also become an issue. Therefore
administrators are compelled to pay staff at a higher rate to maintain
retention. Also, the aging population increases the demand for health
services along with more people having chronic conditions.
Administrations must juggle these challenges and physicians feel the
demands of making health care more businesslike, the pressure of
meeting more regulations and requirements and other factors have
left providers feeling overwhelmed and with less time to spend one-
on-one with patients.
Since the start of the pandemic with some 60% to 75% of clinicians
reported symptoms of exhaustion, depression, sleep disorders, and
PTSD. About 20% of health care workers have quit during this
period, and 4 out of 5 of those who remain, say that staff shortages
have affected their ability to work safely and to satisfy patient needs.
(Levine, 2021) There will be a critical shortage of 3.2 million health
care workers by 2026 illustrating the magnitude of the problem
facing the health care field, mainly in hospitals and healthcare
settings. Staffing shortages have cost hospitals $24 billion over the
course of the pandemic, this expenditure has enabled administrators
to allocate funds to other areas that need assistance.
As people retire and new people are hired, extensive training is
involved, especially with HIPAA and HITECH guidelines. Security
awareness and training are essential to maintain the integrity of
patients' medical records. If administrators hire unqualified workers
just to fill the void then the quality of care will be affected.
Education and proper training are needed to implement regulations
into the organization.
References;
Levine, D.(2021) U.S. Faces Crisis of Burned out Health Care
Workers
