Staffing

This channel provides news on management of staff and proper staffing levels for safe, high-quality healthcare system. Physician and clinician workforce shortages have become growing challenge for hospitals, with burnout also now affecting nearly all medical workers. Topics include medical staffing issues, statistics, compensation how to improve clinician morale and the workplace environment, and ways to combat clinician burnout.

Supreme Court SCOTUS

HHS formally lays off thousands of employees following SCOTUS ruling

After the Supreme Court lifted a lower court injunction, approximately 10,000 employees at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services were officially terminated.

VA halts mass layoffs, still shedding 30,000 jobs by 2026

Veterans Affairs said plans to reduce its workforce by 85,000 have been called off. It has instead undertaken other efforts to improve efficiency. As for the 30,000 jobs it expects to lose by the end of 2025, those will come from early retirements.

doctor's open hand waiting for a payment

Provider pay increased by 4.9% across specialties in 2024, survey finds

A survey from the American Medical Group Association found that physicians and advanced care providers are making more money when compared to hours worked. However, the complications of inflation and the rising cost of care could eat into gains. 

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. RFK HHS secretary

Kennedy tells Congress HHS has rehired another 1,250 workers fired by DOGE

Workers are returning to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health and other departments. Kennedy said the reinstatements were necessary for the agencies to perform their duties.

COVID vaccination updated XBB JN1

RFK’s CDC vaccine panel includes controversial COVID policy skeptics

One of the picks for the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, Robert Malone, MD, is known for his outspoken criticism of mRNA vaccines, particularly for COVID-19. Malone believes the technology is unsafe and has been accused by public health officials of spreading medical misinformation. 

CDC rehires over 400 people on infectious disease and environmental health teams

The exact number of rehires is unclear. However, the move marks the largest number of workers returning to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention since the agency was targeted for firings by Elon Musk's DOGE.

American Medical Association (AMA) President Bruce Scott, MD, an otolaryngologist in Louisville, Kentucky, explains some of the key issues facing physicians, including burnout, growing medical staffing shortages, declining numbers of doctors in rural areas, increasing numbers of patients, large medical education debt payments, the lack of residency positions to train new doctors, and declining Medicare payments, which have declined 33% since 2000. Scott said these issues are also interrelated.

AMA President highlights growing crisis facing U.S. physicians

American Medical Association President Bruce Scott, MD, explains some of the key issues facing physicians, including burnout, growing medical staffing shortages, doctors leaving rural areas, increasing patients and declining Medicare payments.

 

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. RFK HHS secretary

RFK fires entire vaccine committee at CDC

The Department of Health and Human —under the direction of Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.—has released all 17 members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), citing a need to enact President Donald Trump's agenda of restoring science to a "gold standard." 

Around the web

Heartflow, known for its AI-based CCTA evaluations, appears to be going public. The news follows years of momentum for the California-based company, including improved Medicare reimbursements for cardiac CT and a new Category I CPT code for its Plaque Analysis software.

Suman Tandon, MD, an American Society of Nuclear Cardiology board member, explains the group's call on Congress to update a number of healthcare policies. 

The 2026 MPFS proposed rule includes higher conversion factors across the board. However, some cardiology groups remain concerned about a series of reimbursement reductions for high-value cardiology services.