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Putting the joy back into healthcare delivery

In an ordinary, non-pandemic year, the annual physician turnover rate is between 5 and 7%. But a recent survey of 500 physicians showed that 43% changed jobs during the pandemic. And only 46% were committed to staying in their current position beyond next year. Most defectors cited a desire for a better work/life balance as their reason for leaving. And it’s not just physicians. One in five healthcare workers, many of them inpatient nurses, left their jobs during the pandemic. While many have returned, they have often returned to different roles such as ambulatory care and telehealth, leaving inpatient and post-acute care even more shorthanded, further increasing stress and burnout of those who remain.

How can health systems reverse this trend? By putting the joy back into care delivery. That means allowing physicians to practice medicine, not practice clerical work. It means giving them time back to spend with individual patients so they can raise the quality of care, not fritter away hours because of inefficient processes. It means investing in tools such as artificial intelligence and automation to assist clinicians while improving the patient experience. Let’s get started.

Industry insights

• Boosting healthcare workforce resiliency: Two solutions to create workforce supply and flexibility [AVIA]
• How to implement patient portals and improve patient experience [HealthTech]
• How remote patient monitoring improves care, saves money for chronic care [Healthcare IT News]
• Here’s why some VC investors say an economic downturn can be good for digital health [Fierce Healthcare]
• Top 50 remote patient monitoring companies [Becker’s Hospital Review]

Resource of the week

Workforce challenges continue to plague health systems. As the core impact of the latest COVID-19 variant subsides, high turnover and labor spend persist. Coupled with the historical issues of heavy workloads, burnout, and inequitable patient ratios, health systems are grappling with how to sustainably move forward. These issues are taking their toll on more than just the nursing staff. They’re harming health systems’ bottom line and the quality of patient care.

These staffing challenges aren’t going away anytime soon. Watch our webinar, Tackling Workforce Challenges with Digital, as we explore how digital can address the near-term labor supply challenges while balancing the longer-term demands placed on the workforce.
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What we’re into this week

Read: Atomic Habits, by James Clear. The book reveals practical strategies that will teach you exactly how to form good habits, break bad ones, and master the tiny behaviors that lead to remarkable results

Listen: to NPR Music’s Roséwave, a summer series that you’ll want to kick back to while sipping your favorite libation to beat the heat

Watch: The new season of Only Murders in the Building, where Selena Gomez, Steve Martin, and Martin Short team up to solve murders — but only when they happen in their apartment complex