Rolling with changes and shortages
 | |
| Mary Stevens, Editor |
Fifty-one percent of CIOs who responded to the survey said that IT staffing deficiencies will possibly affect their chances to implement an EHR and receive stimulus funding. Another 10 percent said IT worker shortages would definitely affect their chances of doing so. The most glaring need for healthcare organizations is for trained personnel who can implement clinical records software. More than 70 percent of respondents reported that their organizations lack staff to implement clinical applications.
CHIME surveyed its members last month to assess the potential impact of staffing shortages on IT operations, particularly as organizations move to implement clinical systems to qualify for stimulus funding under the HITECH Act.
The news isn’t any better on the clinician side of the hall: Between now and 2015, the shortage of U.S. doctors across all specialties will quadruple to nearly 63,000, according to a report from the Association of American Medical Colleges' Center for Workforce Studies. This is far worse than previous projections, which had showed a baseline shortage of 39,600 doctors in 2015. AAMC estimated 62,900—with a worsening shortage of 130,600 by 2025.
It’s not the just the workload, administrative burdens and burnout that account for this shortage. The U.S. Census Bureau projected a 36 percent growth in the number of Americans over age 65, and nearly one-third of all physicians are expected to retire in the next decade, the report found.
And although the shortfall in the number of physicians will affect everyone, the impact will be most severe on vulnerable and underserved populations, according to the report. “These groups include approximately 20 percent of Americans who live in rural or inner-city locations designated as health professional shortage areas.”
These are the very areas where patient-centered medical home care, telehealth and other remote care options could be most effective, especially for chronic conditions such as severe asthma and heart failure. With project demands only increasing, delegating already lean resources and scarce staff will likely become even more of a balancing act for most CMIOs.
Physicians aren’t the only ones who will have to adjust to this changing healthcare landscape; part of the shift in care culture for patients will include the understanding that we might not need to see a physician to get the care we need. Along these lines, it’s interesting to note the NIH’s grant to a Florida university to develop patient health literacy assessments. In this changing environment, it will be vital to understand what patients already know, or don’t, about their health.
Change is neither good nor bad, but it’s a constant. Does your facility have a change management story to tell? Let me know.
Mary Stevens, editor
mstevens@trimedmedia.com