A Changing Industry
Major changes are happening all over healthcare, especially when it comes to shifting where and how care is delivered.
The COVID-19 pandemic has hastened the adoption of telehealth and remote patient monitoring technologies. Overwhelmed hospitals have asked those who don’t have life-threatening illnesses to avoid the ER whenever possible, to minimize the risk of spreading infections, and instead seek out ambulatory facilities or other care arrangements. But for decades, hospitals have been moving away from the “heads in beds” strategy of relying on inpatient care for revenue in favor of providing more outpatient ambulatory services.
Why? Advances in technology and a broad industry shift toward value based payment models, which reward good patient outcomes instead of simply the number of procedures billed, have both played a major role. Changes in consumer preferences also play a role. Not surprisingly, most people would rather avoid long hospital stays following a surgery in favor of undergoing an outpatient procedure and recovering at home.
There’s also been a major shift in sentiment from seniors, who overwhelmingly say they would prefer to stay in their homes as they age, rather than in a senior living facility. Finally, in the wake of COVID, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has relaxed rules around coverage for things like telehealth and home visits, while improving reimbursement rates to bring them more in line with traditional office visits.
Staffing shortages are a major complication
Unfortunately, the shift is also coinciding with a painful labor shortage that has affected hospitals and home health agencies alike.
As the pandemic has dragged on, the stresses of treating waves of patients with COVID-19 took a toll on staffing, with nurses and physicians alike reporting unprecedented burnout and leaving their jobs. Nearly one in four of the 5,000 hospitals that report their staff status to the federal government had a “critical staffing shortage” as of January 2022, with the number expected to grow.
An industry survey in early 2022 found that 87% of respondents said they became burned out in the past year, with similar numbers expressing concerns about their mental health and frustrations with pay and working conditions.
Perhaps no sector of the healthcare system was hit harder than skilled nursing and assisted-living facilities, with job losses of nearly 238,000 since the beginning of the pandemic, with staffing levels at a 15-year low across the long-term care industry, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Articles published by The New York Times and other outlets examining conditions inside nursing homes during COVID also prompted many people to reconsider plans for their loved ones, with many facilities struggling with low occupancy rates as more seniors opt to receive care at home.
The Skedulo Impact
Skedulo gives your team access to smarter, real-time scheduling. The end result? Happier caregivers, patients and schedulers, and a healthier bottom line.
- Clients: Honor your clients’ or patients’ care preferences and match them with the skills and certifications they need.
- Schedulers/ Care Coordinators: More easily manage your mobile caregivers in real-time and better match available skills to the needs of patients.
- Mobile Caregivers: Make their time count with route optimization, real-time communication and access to key tools and information from the field.
- Back Office/ Business Owners Make data-driven, strategic decisions and improve performance, patient outcomes and employee retention.