Hospital and health system executives face continued shortages of physicians, nurses, and mental health providers, according to a Navigant Consulting Inc. (NYSE: NCI) analysis conducted by the Healthcare Financial Management Association. The shortage of these specialized positions is likely causing hospitals to project higher labor budgets in the coming year as administrators anticipate offering increased compensation in order to fill these roles.
Survey results also suggests leadership is targeting labor and supply chain productivity improvements to reduce hospital operating expenses over the next 12 months.
Executives offer a volatile view of current staffing shortages, citing nurse and physician shortages as areas of both the largest increases and reductions compared to a year ago. Forty-three percent of survey participants said current nurse shortages are worse than this time last year, with 27% suggesting improvements. And 35% cited existing physician shortages as worse and 20% as better than a year ago.
Mental health provider shortages may represent the most dire situation, with 35% of respondents believing current shortages are worse than last year, while just 10% cite an improvement.
In addition, 20% of executives suggest revenue cycle management and coding expert shortages as worsening. Support services, pharmacists, and imaging experts represent the areas with the least shortage issues.
When asked how their organizations’ labor budgets are likely to change in the next 12 months, 78% of executives predict an increase, with almost one in five projecting surges of 5% or more. Just 14% predict decreases, and none more than 5%.
“Staffing shortages are placing hospital leadership in a paradoxical situation, both due to the economic theory of supply and demand and the tendency to maintain surplus with shortages looming,” said Navigant Director Vamshi Gunukula. “As a result, reducing labor costs has become even more difficult. Leveraging predictive analytics, proactively matching staffing to patient care demand, and more efficient workflows can help providers address these challenges.”
The survey included 101 chief financial officers and operations executives.
