Healthcare organizations nationwide face ongoing challenges related to recruitment and retention, financial sustainability, patient access, technology, compliance, and more. Much has been written on how the industry approaches these challenges, but we rarely acknowledge that we are fighting the war on three fronts. That is, individual organizations may face the same challenges, but the battles look very different depending on where they are taking place — in urban, suburban, or rural healthcare settings.
A new survey by LocumTenens.com and the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) explores how each type of organization is experiencing and responding to these difficulties. The resulting report provides a new understanding of what urban, suburban, and rural healthcare organizations view as their most significant challenges and how they approach the issues they face.
Top Challenges Facing Urban, Suburban, and Rural Healthcare Organizations
When looking at healthcare organizations overall, three of the four most significant challenges reported are related to staffing and recruitment. Clinical support staffing was the most commonly cited challenge, followed by financial sustainability, physician and APP recruitment, and administrative/clerical staffing. Clearly, finding the right people remains an ongoing issue for urban, suburban, and rural healthcare organizations.
That said, when examining answers by location, leaders of rural organizations reported physician and APP recruitment as their most significant challenge almost twice as often as leaders of urban and suburban organizations. Healthcare leaders in urban settings reported slightly more concerns about clinical support staffing and were more likely to cite facility upgrades/expansion as a top challenge. Suburban healthcare leaders more frequently cited challenges associated with IT and infrastructure as a top concern.
3 Ways Urban, Suburban, and Rural Healthcare Organizations are Rising to Today’s Challenges
The report touches on the many factors driving these challenges — workforce shortages, technological advancements, economic pressures, changing patient expectations, regulatory requirements, and geographic factors (to name a few). Each organization’s experience of these factors is unique, but there is some consensus on the necessary strategies and solutions. However, when evaluating their answers based on location, some interesting distinctions emerge regarding which methods they use and how they integrate solutions.
1. Recruitment and Staffing Strategies
Amidst a worsening physician shortage, healthcare organizations report using many of the same strategies to ensure patients receive the care they need, but depending on location, some methods are more common than others. In urban settings, for example, leaders are more likely to partner with a temporary staffing firm to bring in contract and locum providers. Suburban healthcare leaders report that they cross-train staff, outsource non-clinical tasks, or use per diem workers more often than leaders in urban and rural areas. Leaders of rural healthcare organizations are more likely to report offering overtime to existing staff, expanding remote or hybrid options, or using internships or externships to draw new talent. While most leaders anticipate adding new APP roles at their organizations in the next five years, it is most common among rural leaders.
When recruiting new full-time providers, rural healthcare leaders say candidates are drawn to work-life balance, competitive compensation, and flexible schedules offered by their organizations. They acknowledge location and lack of community amenities as having a negative impact on recruitment. Urban healthcare leaders say their organizations’ locations, competitive salaries, and career development opportunities help them attract talent. At the same time, their lack of flexible schedules and poor work-life balance can be a detriment. Suburban healthcare leaders say competitive compensation, work-life balance, and quality of life are all positive factors in their recruitment efforts. Organizations continue to emphasize and enhance the positive aspects of their cultures in an effort to improve retention.
2. Technology
Technology continues to alter healthcare delivery in all settings radically. However, technology integration often presents a new set of problems — causing many organizations to hold back or move slowly in its adoption. This does not appear to be the case regarding artificial intelligence. According to the report, nearly three-fourths of urban healthcare leaders plan to integrate new AI tools in the next three to five years. More than half of rural and suburban healthcare leaders report the same, suggesting significant faith in the potential of AI in healthcare.
In contrast, just 16% of rural leaders expect to integrate new EMR systems in the next three to five years. Urban and suburban leaders report adopting new EMR systems at even lower rates. Regarding remote patient monitoring, rural leaders are again most likely to report integrating new systems, but only 13% plan to do so.
3. Telehealth
The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the adoption of telehealth by organizations nationwide, but concerns about reimbursement for virtual care may have prevented some organizations from fully embracing telehealth services. Interoperability and broadband access pose additional obstacles for rural organizations, yet rural and urban leaders report similar levels of telehealth offerings at 84% and 85%, respectively. Suburban healthcare leaders report slightly lower levels at 75%. Despite these relatively high levels of adoption, less than half (43%) say telehealth appointments have improved patient access and wait times.
The Ongoing Need for Innovation
As healthcare organizations strive to secure the people, technology, and workflows they need to provide care for their communities, most leaders recognize the need for ongoing innovation to support their efforts. Areas of focus appear to be new APP roles, artificial intelligence, telehealth, and improvements to organization culture and retention efforts. Acknowledging the need for more innovation in these areas is a critical first step, but practices vary in how far along they are in adopting these solutions and even what that integration looks like.
In the meantime, the research suggests that organizations across all geographic settings rely too much on traditional recruitment and retention strategies, which could prevent them from growing their care teams and addressing patient access and population health concerns. While processes are evolving and show signs of progress, healthcare provider organizations must continue actively seeking innovative strategies to address the most pressing challenges and rise to meet the growing demand for care.
Read the full report from LocumTenens.com and MGMA.
If your organization is seeking innovative recruitment strategies to help you identify physicians and APPs for your team, Jackson Physician Search bridges cutting-edge digital strategies with personal, high-touch service. Reach out today to learn more.
