A record-high of 4.4 million people, or 3% of workers, quit their jobs in September according to the Labor Department’s latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover survey. Hires and total separations were at 6.5 million and 6.2 million, respectively. Automation tools have proven successful for healthcare organizations looking to alleviate administrative burdens, mitigate turnovers, speed new hire onboarding, and ensure ongoing facility operations despite resignation challenges like the ones below.
1 in 5 Healthcare Workers Quit Their Jobs During the Pandemic
A new special report from Morning Consult explores how healthcare workers have fared during the COVID-19 pandemic and how they view the future of the medical field. This highlighted the following healthcare statistics:
- 18% of healthcare workers have quit their jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic, while another 12% have been laid off
- 31% of healthcare workers considered leaving
- 79% of healthcare professionals said the work shortage has affected them and their place of work
This mass exodus — driven largely by the pandemic, insufficient pay, and burnout — has implications for the entire healthcare system, both in the current situation as we struggle to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic and in the future as the country continues to age.
The Current Turmoil Isn’t Likely To Subside Any Time Soon
Nurses are stressed and exhausted. The country’s biggest nurses union, National Nurses United, projects that by 2030 there will be seven states with a registered nursing shortage. In the latest American Nurses Foundation (ANF) poll of 9,572 nurses, 75% said in the past 14 days they felt stressed while 62% said they felt overwhelmed. Invest time in taking better care of your employees. Provide greater resources, acknowledge the toll of the pandemic, be more flexible with #WFH, and provide additional paid time off (PTO). Employees are looking for dependable benefits, higher wages, and greater healthcare access.
Burnout Results from Too Much Time in the EHR
In multiple surveys and studies, physicians of all specialties consistently cite the time and energy they must devote to filling out forms and wrangling with additional administrative tasks in the EHR, at the top of their list of grievances. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated these challenges and presented additional issues for all healthcare workers. According to an article in the Advisory Board, healthcare employers must address the underlying structural challenges contributing to the great resignation to slow down the massive turnover rate.
A Few of the Ways RPA Has Helped Healthcare During the Pandemic
According to a report by McKinsey, almost half the activities people are paid almost $16 trillion in wages to do in the global economy have the potential to be automated. Robotic Process Automation (RPA) has helped mitigate further disruption by enabling hospitals, health systems, and providers to stay connected across teams and systems, and maintain stability during times of uncertainty. A few of the ways in which automation has helped healthcare workers reduce time, increase connectivity, and eliminate manual tasks:
- Sort through volumes of data to find the right patient lists for COVID-19 vaccine distribution
- Schedule patients for vaccine appointments, lab tests, & results
- Register lot numbers, vials and PPE, and maintain inventories
- Update patient charts and medical records
- Speed HRSA revenue cycle claims for uninsured patient reimbursements
- Speed “dollars in the door” through faster claims management
The Role Of Communication In Employee Retention
The long and the short of it is that employees may not feel heard and/or valued. For this reason, hospitals and healthcare systems have an opportunity for meaningful discussions with employees about job responsibilities, pay, and working conditions. Set up a dialogue and find out what you can do to change the trajectory. Make sure that people are being given the platform to discuss grievances and open up the dialogue on mental health issues. Healthcare is a demanding field and staff are more prone to burnout, especially with the added pressure of working through the pandemic (and PTSD). By incorporating more digital health tools like RPA, hospitals and health systems can reduce the toll on people, the most valuable asset of any business.
Why Boston Software Systems
Automation offers public health a boost by reducing the need for manual processes and improving the sharing of information despite data silos. At Boston Software Systems, we have 30+ years of successful projects under our belt. KLAS gave Boston Software Systems solid A’s in company culture, loyalty, operations, and value. We keep our promises and state our truths as to what our services can and cannot accomplish. Our RPA initiatives optimize healthcare efficiencies and reduce the barriers to productivity, supporting people over paperwork. Give us 30 minutes. We’ll let you know what can “go live” in < 30 days.