How to Fix Staffing Shortages in Healthcare

Updated on February 19, 2025 by Jordan McGlone

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Healthcare workers are essential to patient care, but staffing shortages are worsening. Retirements, burnout, and fewer new professionals entering the field are driving the crisis.

The pandemic accelerated existing shortages, with Baby Boomers aging and demand for healthcare rising. Home health aides, nurses, lab techs, and doctors are in critical short supply, with a physician deficit expected by 2030.

Overwork, low pay, and declining mental health continue to push workers out, leaving those who remain overwhelmed and at risk of burnout. Below, we give you a quick rundown of the most effective ways on how to fix staffing shortages in healthcare.

Top 8 Workforce Management Strategies for Labor Shortage in Healthcare

Now, as the need for healthcare is greater than ever, demand is only expected to increase, and healthcare organizations need to address labor shortages in their continuity strategy.

Outsource to Qualified Service Providers

Outsourcing alleviates the pressure on overworked healthcare staff, freeing their time for more critical tasks. Plus, medical outsourcing is a cost-effective solution to labor shortages.

With PatientCalls’ medical answering service, you eliminate the burden of recruitment, training, and other staffing expenses. Our HIPAA-compliant team seamlessly integrates with your operations, providing immediate support to address workforce gaps.

Our 24/7 medical call center ensures professional handling of appointment scheduling, emergency dispatch, and patient inquiries. With after-hours service, we guarantee prompt responses, enhancing patient satisfaction and demonstrating your commitment to comprehensive care at all hours.

Utilize the Resources Available

This is an important time for healthcare management to be aware of the resources that are available to help address staffing shortages, according to the CDC.

Local healthcare coalitions and federal, state, and local public health partners may provide assistance when hiring additional healthcare personnel, recruiting retired doctors, or finding students and volunteers as needed.

This may also mean consolidating healthcare practices and optimizing how your team of healthcare workers is operating.

Revise Your Staffing Strategy

Labor shortages in healthcare aren’t new, but the pandemic has made it critical for hospitals and nursing homes to be proactive. Start by reassessing your staffing needs and identifying gaps. Efficient staffing requires understanding your facility’s needs and using the minimum number of healthcare workers needed to ensure safety and quality care.

Consider using lower-level staff for simpler tasks, freeing up senior nurses and PAs for more complex cases. Upskilling current staff and new hires through training programs and mentorships is another option. Cross-training ensures that employees are adaptable and can fill critical gaps when needed.

Maximize the Use of Technology

Healthcare networks that adopt innovative workforce practices and new tools will thrive. Technology increases efficiency, accuracy, and employee job satisfaction, aligning with the need to improve patient outcomes.

Using technology reduces costs and frees up staff to focus on patient care. Government incentives are available for facilities that adopt electronic medical records and other digital options. Telehealth services have surged, expanding the talent pool across state borders and easing workforce shortages.

Streamlined EMR integrations also make outsourcing easier, enabling fast, secure data sharing for tasks like billing and telehealth services, further cutting costs and saving time.

Technologies that are being adopted in the healthcare field in record numbers include:

• Telemedicine platforms,
• Remote home monitoring,
• Secure cloud tools for collecting and sharing data, and
• EMR integrations.

Boost the Employee Retention Rate

One main cause of shortages is the massive turnover seen in the healthcare industry. In 2020, the healthcare industry experienced a nearly 22% turnover rate across all jobs, which represents the second worst rate by industry.

Employee retention is an important issue to address. Proactive management is implementing reward systems for performance, better platforms for communication, more thoughtful shift-planning, and clearer scheduling.

Strategies should aim to retain existing personnel, attract recent graduates, and encourage skilled staff to stay on even as they near retirement. Consider strategies that will help prevent burnout and promote a healthy working environment.

Enhance Workforce Flexibility with Scheduling Solutions

Rigid work schedules contribute to burnout, dissatisfaction, and turnover. By offering flexible scheduling, healthcare organizations can better accommodate employees’ work-life balance while maintaining adequate staffing levels.

Implementing AI-driven scheduling tools optimizes shift assignments, reduces scheduling conflicts, and ensures that staff allocation meets real-time demand. Additionally, self-scheduling options empower healthcare workers to choose shifts that best suit their availability, improving morale and reducing absenteeism.

Medical answering services, like PatientCalls, further support workforce flexibility by handling after-hours calls, patient inquiries, and appointment scheduling—reducing the burden on in-house staff. By outsourcing these essential tasks, healthcare providers can prevent staff burnout, improve response times, and maintain seamless patient communication without increasing workload demands.

Strengthen Partnerships with Educational Institutions

Building strong relationships with nursing schools, medical training programs, and universities can create a steady pipeline of new talent. Hospitals and healthcare organizations can establish internship programs, offer tuition reimbursement, and create direct recruitment pathways for recent graduates.

Programs that provide student loan forgiveness or tuition assistance in exchange for service commitments can be particularly effective in attracting young professionals to healthcare roles.

Expand International Recruitment Efforts

Many countries face healthcare staffing shortages, but global talent recruitment can provide a solution. International hiring programs allow hospitals and clinics to tap into a diverse talent pool while ensuring compliance with licensing and credentialing requirements.

Visa sponsorship programs and partnerships with overseas medical schools can facilitate the hiring of qualified healthcare professionals from other countries, filling workforce gaps where domestic supply is insufficient.

Current Climate of Healthcare System Staffing

The healthcare sector is experiencing a severe staffing crisis exacerbated by an aging population, increased demand for healthcare services, and high turnover among professionals.

Burnout among nurses has further deepened the workforce shortage, with critical projections indicating worsening conditions in the coming years.

Below are some key statistical data highlighting the health system’s climate:

Current Challenges

• Workforce Shortages: The healthcare industry faces a critical shortage of healthcare professionals, including nurses and physicians. By 2028, the deficit is projected to reach 100,000 healthcare workers.
• Aging Population: The growing elderly population is increasing demand for geriatric care and chronic disease management, further straining available resources.
• Burnout and Turnover: Over 60% of nurses report feeling burnt out, with 22% changing positions within six months. Burnout remains one of the top reasons for turnover, with 46% of nurses citing it as their primary reason for leaving.
• Workplace Violence: A growing concern in healthcare settings, 26% of nurses consider leaving due to workplace violence, further impacting retention rates.
• Rising Replacement Costs: Replacing a single registered nurse can cost upwards of $50,000, highlighting the financial strain caused by turnover.
• Preparedness Concerns: Only 32% of healthcare executives feel comfortable with current patient-to-staff ratios, while 78% believe their organizations are unprepared for a large-scale health crisis.

Trends and Projections

• Severe Shortages Expected by 2036: Nurse retirements continue to outpace the influx of new nurses, making shortages more severe in the coming years. The U.S. will need about 177,400 additional Registered Nurses between 2022 and 2032.
• Growth in Travel Nursing: The travel nursing industry has surged, experiencing a 430% increase from 2018 to 2024, filling critical gaps in staffing shortages.
• Technology-Driven Workforce Solutions: AI, automation, and telehealth are increasingly streamlining processes and reducing workloads, allowing facilities to operate more efficiently.
• Recruitment and Retention Strategies: Healthcare organizations are enhancing working conditions, compensation packages, and mental health support to improve retention and attract new talent.

Solutions for 2025 and Beyond

• Technology Integration: Automating administrative tasks and leveraging predictive analytics to anticipate and address staffing needs.
• Workforce Development: Increased investment in education and training programs to expand the supply of qualified healthcare professionals.
• Flexible Staffing Models: Adopting flexible work arrangements to attract a wider pool of candidates and reduce burnout.

Advanced Healthcare Workforce Shortage Solutions

The ongoing labor shortage in healthcare shows no signs of easing. Administrators and managers are seeking ways to support their staff and boost efficiency. Here’s how technology can help medical practices and hospitals navigate this challenge.

1. Speech-to-Text Apps
   These apps reduce paperwork by converting voice into text, allowing healthcare professionals to focus more on patient care. With accuracy rates of up to 85%, apps like Nuance streamline documentation.
2. Voice Assistants
   Devices like Alexa enable hands-free patient monitoring and communication, reducing in-person interactions and saving time. This technology helps staff manage their workload more efficiently.
3. Telemedicine
   Telemedicine allows remote diagnosis and care, decreasing patient load in clinics and freeing up time for healthcare providers. It also facilitates better coordination with specialists.
4. Portable Patient Monitoring Devices
   These devices track vital signs on the move and alert caregivers to emergencies, integrating with EMR health systems to ensure continuous monitoring.
5. Queue Management Systems
   These systems optimize patient flow by predicting busy times and managing schedules. They help reduce wait times and improve appointment efficiency with real-time updates.  

How Can Call Center Services Help During Labor Shortage?

Call center services can play a crucial role in helping businesses navigate the challenges posed by labor shortages.

Here are some key ways in which call center services can provide support:

• Efficient Call Management. Call center services can handle high volumes of calls efficiently, reducing wait times and ensuring that customers receive timely assistance.
• 24/7 Support. Virtual receptionists can provide around-the-clock support, ensuring that customers can reach out at any time and receive the help they need.

• Multilingual Support. Offering bilingual or multilingual support can enhance customer satisfaction by allowing customers to communicate in their native language, making them feel more at ease and understood.
• Omnichannel Experience. Contact centers can handle customer interactions across multiple channels, including phone calls, emails, live chats, and social media messaging, providing a comprehensive and seamless experience.

• Extended team. Outsourced call centers can alleviate the burden on in-house staff, allowing them to focus on other critical tasks. This can also reduce the costs associated with hiring and training new employees.
• Scalability. Outsourced call centers offer flexibility and scalability, enabling businesses to quickly scale up or down as needed without the hassle and expense of hiring in-house staff.
• Automated Solutions. Medical answering services use automated solutions, such as AI-powered chatbots and intelligent call routing systems, which can streamline call center operations and improve medical office efficiency.

Factors Contributing to Staffing Challenges in Healthcare

The healthcare industry is currently facing a critical challenge in staffing shortages. This issue, driven by a complex array of factors, threatens the delivery of quality care and the overall effectiveness of healthcare systems.

The staffing challenges are driven by several key factors.

• Aging Population – The baby boomer generation’s healthcare needs are increasing, putting more pressure on an already strained workforce.
• Rising Demand – Expanded healthcare access and chronic disease prevalence drive the need for more professionals across specialties.
• Burnout & Turnover – Long hours, stressful environments, and high patient loads lead to severe burnout, causing high turnover rates. Nearly 50% of providers report worsening access to care due to staffing issues.
• Training & Onboarding – Healthcare careers require extensive education, and constant turnover means organizations are in a cycle of continuous onboarding.
• Rural Disparities – Underserved areas struggle to attract and retain talent due to fewer resources, job opportunities, and lower salaries.
• Financial Strain – Hospitals face rising labor costs, with many projected to operate at a loss due to increased wages and retention challenges.
• Technology’s Role – AI, telemedicine, and automation help mitigate shortages by reducing administrative burdens and improving efficiency.
• Policy & Workforce Development – Increased funding for training programs and policy reforms is essential to address long-term staffing deficits.

Understanding these factors allows healthcare organizations to implement targeted strategies that ensure workforce stability and high-quality patient care.

Boost Your Workforce with PatientCalls Answering Service

Labor shortages in healthcare are putting a lot of pressure on teams to keep things running smoothly. One simple and effective way to ease this burden is by outsourcing call answering to a reliable service like PatientCalls. Managing incoming calls can take up a lot of time, especially when there aren’t enough staff members to handle them. By letting PatientCalls take care of your calls, your team can focus on the more important tasks at hand.

PatientCalls is the top medical answering service in the United States, offering full integration with your EMR system and ensuring HIPAA compliance to protect patient privacy and data. This service is a cost-effective way to reduce the workload on your staff, helping your healthcare facility operate at full capacity even with fewer employees.

Here’s what PatientCalls can do for you:

• Handle all incoming calls efficiently, freeing up your staff’s time.
• Integrate seamlessly with your EMR system to keep everything organized.
• Ensure HIPAA compliance to protect patient privacy and data.
• Support your team during staff shortages, helping your facility run smoothly.
• Provide a cost-effective solution to reduce pressure on your administrative staff.

Outsourcing your call answering to PatientCalls isn’t just a temporary fix; it’s a smart way to keep things running smoothly even when you’re short on staff.

Contact us to learn more about how PatientCalls can help your team manage staffing challenges.

FAQs

About The Author

Jordan McGlone

Jordan has more than seven years of experience working for PatientCalls and a strong background in the healthcare answering service industry. He designs directive plans to fit the unique structure and activities of healthcare organizations, while ensuring that communications are efficient, compliant with HIPAA privacy and security regulations, and support optimal patient care.