Workforce shortage remains a critical challenge with 48% of executives believing their hospitals are not fully equipped to handle current patient volumes, according to FTI Consulting’s “Hospital Operations Outlook Survey” published May 15.
FTI Consulting surveyed more than 200 hospital executives between March 3 and March 12.
Six things to know:
1. The findings were similar to last year’s results when 49% of respondents said they believe their hospitals are unprepared for current patient volumes.
2. Executives identified specialists (49%) and nursing roles (46%) as the most persistent shortages.
3. Nearly 70% of executives surveyed said they increased agency utilization in the past 12 months — a 13% increase from the prior year.
4. About 80% of executives surveyed reported implementing — or planning to implement — long-term strategies aimed at workforce sustainability. Key initiatives include adopting digital tools to reduce administrative burdens (84%), restructuring operating models (83%) and establishing clear hire-to-retire strategies (82%), combating provider burnout (81%) and enhancing benefits offering (79%).
5. Executives are facing challenges within the hire-to-retire lifecycle, particularly in professional development (57%), recruitment (53%) and retention (53%).
6. Hospital executives are increasingly turning to sourcing, with 45% saying they have already outsourced certain functions and another 45% considering doing so. The most commonly outsourced functions are nutrition services (56%), supply chain (49%) and technology services (48%).
Read the full report here.
