Can providers use telemedicine to solve staffing challenges

The COVID-19 pandemic shook healthcare to its core, disrupting traditional care systems around the world and exposing deep vulnerabilities, especially in staffing.

Not all of those disruptions were a net negative. As hospitals filled beyond capacity and healthcare workers began to buckle under previously unimaginable conditions, telemedicine emerged as a lifeline, a new way to maintain patient care amid the chaos.

Even as the pandemic subsided, telemedicine's ability to overcome physical barriers and streamline workflows allowed it to evolve from a temporary fix to a key service in most providers' repertoires. And it may yet provide relief from another lasting fixture of COVID's legacy: the staffing shortage.

Post-pandemic, healthcare workers continue to leave the industry for better conditions, hours, and compensation. By 2026, the American Hospital Association projects the country will face a shortage of 3.2 million healthcare workers.

Just as telemedicine gave patients access to care when face-to-face provider interactions came at a premium, this technology could help providers relieve overworked care teams and reduce administrative burdens associated with staffing challenges.

Virtual visits create real-world efficiencies

A typical provider's patient throughput is determined by three limiting factors: time, space (usually measured in staffed beds or exam rooms), and staff. When employed effectively, telemedicine can help providers save time, free up space, and enable staff to work more efficiently without necessarily having to work harder.

Virtual consultations allow healthcare workers to manage their time effectively, reducing the need for travel between physical locations and room cleanup between patient visits. It also gives providers and their patients a greater degree of flexibility in scheduling, allowing healthcare professionals to conduct appointments outside of facility hours.

Telemedicine is particularly useful for managing chronic diseases and conducting follow-up appointments, both of which require frequent, routine check-ins but often don't call for in-person visits.

In a McKinsey study, 50% of patients surveyed indicated they preferred telemedicine for ongoing care management because it saved them time and effort. By directing routine care management appointments to a virtual setting, providers can allocate more time and facility space to critical cases that require a face-to-face visit.

Additionally, telemedicine gives providers the opportunity to triage non-emergency patients more efficiently. A patient suffering from a bad cold is unlikely to benefit from a trip to the doctor's office-and any patients sitting in the waiting room certainly won't benefit from being exposed to their germs-but they may still want to consult with a physician to determine the best course of action.

With telemedicine, physicians can quickly meet with patients to confirm whether an in-person visit is necessary, advise on at-home care options, and even prescribe medications, all in less time, with fewer resources, and with less exposure to potential contagions than a physical visit would necessitate.

Direct care staff aren't the only ones who benefit from telemedicine utilization. The integration of telemedicine with electronic health records (EHRs) can help providers automate administrative tasks like billing, documentation, and scheduling. This cuts down on the clerical workload of care teams and support staff alike, reducing burnout associated with repetitive processes and allowing workers to focus on the human element of the job.

A flexible workforce is more likely to keep working

A well-integrated telemedicine system can save healthcare workers time and effort while giving patients the kind of flexibility and personalization they increasingly expect from care. But this technology can also reduce the rigidity of workers' daily workflows, improving job satisfaction and retention.

The American Medical Association (AMA) highlighted that physician burnout increased dramatically during the pandemic, with nearly 1 in 5 healthcare workers quitting their jobs by mid-2021. For some staff, the traditional care environment itself directly contributes to that burnout.

Hospitals, while absolutely necessary for many types of care, are often overwhelming environments: Bright fluorescent lighting, the din of alarms and crowds, the smell of chemicals and bodily fluids, unruly and uncooperative patients and families, and the constant exposure to illness and injury can wear on even the most seasoned care professionals after enough time-especially for those working overtime to fill staffing gaps.

Telemedicine can give some healthcare workers the flexibility to step away from the physical facility setting and deliver care virtually, helping to mitigate the mental and emotional burden of in-person clinical work.

Even having limited choices around work setting can be enough to improve a worker's overall impression of their job and keep them on staff. A 2021 study published in SSM Population Health found that higher workplace flexibility-i.e., the autonomy to choose the duration, tasks, location, and time of their work-was significantly associated with lower odds of burnout.

Furthermore, a 2020 survey from the COVID-19 Healthcare Coalition found that physicians who integrated telemedicine into their practices were more likely to report higher job satisfaction and work-life balance. For healthcare workers approaching retirement, struggling to keep up with the daily demands of inpatient care, or living in remote areas, telemedicine offers some flexibility that can potentially extend their careers, thus easing pressure on the workforce.

Telemedicine also facilitates part-time work, attracting healthcare workers who need reduced hours due to personal commitments or those transitioning back into the workforce after extended absences. These options could significantly improve retention rates by making healthcare a more accommodating field, especially as demand for healthcare services continues to grow.

Telemedicine helps providers help patients

It's worth noting that although telemedicine makes a statistical improvement on providers' job satisfaction, not all care professionals are excited about the technology on its face. In 2021, McKinsey & Company found that nearly 30% of surveyed physicians said they would prefer to offer no telemedicine at all.

Implementing telemedicine isn't without its challenges: The cost of technological infrastructure and upkeep, the time and resources associated with training staff, and a sense of disconnection from the personal element of care may worry providers. But these barriers are worth overcoming, not only to improve the overall quality of healthcare work, but also to ensure patients receive the care they want and deserve.

The 2021 McKinsey survey found that 60% of consumers were interested in continuing to use telemedicine services after the pandemic. Those consumers seem to be acting on that interest: In 2023, 37% of American adults used telemedicine, up from 13-17% in 2021.

Providers have a lot to gain by continuing to offer (or newly implementing) telemedicine services to patients. Aside from saving time and money, improving care access, and boosting care quality, telemedicine gives providers the flexibility to take care of themselves and find greater satisfaction in their work. And, as researchers demonstrated in a 2023 study published in the Journal of Healthcare Quality Research, higher provider satisfaction means higher patient satisfaction-a rare win-win in the healthcare space.

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