The survey results come from data received from 284 hospital administrators from both non-profit and for-profit acute-care hospitals, including community hospitals, academic centers, non-government and government facilities.
Of those surveyed, 95 percent believed that there was a physician shortage and 91 percent believed there was a nurse shortage. Most CEO also believed that there was a shortage of allied healthcare professionals (79 percent) and pharmacists (86 percent).
Almost half (46 percent) of CEOs said the physician shortage had affected access to care, and 51.6 percent said the physician shortage was a “serious concern” in their area, according to the report. However, 27 percent of CEOs said the nursing shortage in their areas had improved over the last six months.
Hospital CEOs also reported recruitment of clinical staff as a top priority, as the majority of CEO said clinical professional were a major driver of revenue. Average vacancy rates for medical professionals as reported by the CEOs were 11 percent for physicians, 6 percent for nurses, 5 percent for allied healthcare professions and 5 percent for pharmacists.
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