Impact of Staffing Shortages in Healthcare

The pandemic has impacted the healthcare field. Hospitals, medical practices, emergency rooms, and urgent care are struggling to meet patients’ demands. Many healthcare providers have decided to leave the field. The exit includes nurses, doctors, mid-level providers, and other practice staff. Therefore, it is important to take a closer look at its impact on the medical field and what can be done to make the process easier.

The Emotional Stress Has Taken Its Toll

According to information published by the Yale School of Public Health, nearly a quarter of all front-line healthcare workers surveyed exhibited post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms. Furthermore, close to four out of every ten healthcare workers in the survey indicated that they were not receiving adequate emotional support, particularly given the stress of the global pandemic.

There are lots of sources of stress in the healthcare field. A few examples include:

• A severe lack of adequate staff
• Additional hours spent taking care of more patients
• The growing burden of administrative paperwork placed on staff members at all levels

The result is that many medical professionals are leaving the field due to burnout, contributing to a shortage that creates a positive feedback loop.

Physicians Feel Burnt Out As Well

According to information published by JAMA Internal Medicine, there is extensive evidence that burnout among doctors contributes to a substantial amount of physician turnover. Additional reports have found that nearly 45% of all doctors feel burnt out. Burnout significantly impacts physicians’ mental health and can affect their ability to provide quality care. 

Possible Solutions To A Complicated Issue

This perfect storm of stress was created by a pandemic and a rapidly aging population, and no single fix will address all of these problems. BUT, there are a few possible solutions to the issue.

• It is essential for hospital administrators and medical practices to reduce the stress on doctors and nurses. Several ways to do this include hiring more people to handle paperwork, reducing their expected hours, and raising their pay.
• It is critical to take a look at the administrative burdens that are placed on both doctors and nurses. If steps can be taken to address this administrative burden, it can go a long way toward protecting the well-being of medical professionals everywhere.

Addressing the Administrate Burden Placed on Medical Professionals

The American Journal of Management Care published that documentation and cognitive burdens are significant issues when HIPAA law electronic medical records are not integrated directly into clinical workflows. Even though electronic medical records are designed to make things easier, that is not always the case. For doctors and nurses, they are not user-friendly, which contributes to a significant amount of stress during the day.

Electronic medical records are not easy to use when physicians should be focused on face-to-face time with patients. For example, visit documentation becomes a significant concern, medication errors, and patients are delayed in receiving vital care. This leads to a wide variety of clinically adverse outcomes. The reality is that physician EMR systems have led to significant problems among staff. Medical professionals at all levels cannot get patients the care they require. It can also be a significant source of administrative frustration, leading to medical staff burnout, job dissatisfaction, and turnover.

Doctors have also been surveyed regarding their frustration with electronic medical record systems. Multiple surveys have shown that too many bureaucratic tasks have contributed to a high burnout rate. More than a third of doctors have indicated they spend too many hours at work. Specifically, the time is spent on the computer, leading many of them to want to leave. Doctors are also known to spend more time looking at the computer screen rather than communicating face to face with the patient, leading to frustration among patients. When doctors are not looking at the patient, they miss vital details of the patient’s visit, which can lead to adverse outcomes.

That is why it is important for medical professionals at all levels, including doctors in all settings, to consider working with a professional scribe service that can make it easier to handle these administrative tasks.

The Benefits of DataMatrix Medical: Address Staffing Shortages in the Healthcare Industry

Because staffing shortages in the medical field are likely to get worse for various reasons, it is important for medical professionals to partner with a service that can handle many of the administrative tasks above. Doctors and practice managers should not have to spend their days worrying about administrative tasks, as it can contribute to doctor burnout while reducing the level of care patients receive. Now, DataMatrix Medical minimizes the stress placed on doctors and practice managers by handling various bureaucratic tasks. Some of the benefits of partnering with DataMatrix Medical include:

Medical Scribe

Through DataMatrix Medical, doctors can access a medical scribe. The medical scribe is virtual, so doctors don’t need to worry about another physical body in the room that could otherwise disrupt the flow of the patient’s visit. If you are asking the question, “what is a virtual medical scribe” you are not alone. DataMatrix Medical’s virtual medical scribe solution also doctors to do more and not worry about repeated training and the scribe calling out sick because someone is always available.

With access to a medical scribe, doctors can focus all their attention on the patient without worrying about falling behind on documentation. All virtual scribes from DataMatrix Medical have been trained to handle clinical jargon and chart information accurately. This can streamline the flow of the day and lighten the administrative load placed on doctors.

Professional Medical Transcription and Voicemail Transcription Services

In addition, DataMatrix Medical gives everyone access to medical transcription services. This includes medical transcription services, wherein an experienced expert DataMatrix Medical transcription for doctors accurately transcribes all doctor’s dictations. These transcribed reports can be added to the EMR as per the customized requirements of the physicians and can be viewed at their leisure. 

The team from DataMatrix Medical also provides professional voicemail transcription services. Instead of going through a robotic menu to access voicemails, doctors can look at the voicemail message in the chart at their convenience. Then, they can respond to the patient’s concerns at a convenient time, helping them save time during the day.

Medical Document Management

DataMatrix Medical also provides medical practices with comprehensive medical document management services. Medical practices receive a variety of documents during the course of the day. This includes lab reports, emails, and notes from specialists. It can be frustrating for doctors to handle so much paperwork, and the team from DataMatrix Medical provides medical document management services that makes it easier for doctors to keep track of these notes and address them at their convenience. The team works around the clock to ensure no lag time for entry into the medical record system. This can prevent significant delays in patient care, ensuring all patients have access to the required services.

Insurance Verification and Prior Authorization 

Insurance verification is an important part of the modern medical system, but it can place a heavy administrative burden on the practice. Instead, practices should rely on the team from DataMatrix Medical to handle this for them. The professional team from DataMatrix Medical can verify all patient health insurance ahead of time, making sure doctors and patients know exactly what is covered and what is not.

Furthermore, the team from DataMatrix Medical can also handle prior authorizations. Prior authorization services can prevent delays in patient care while ensuring that all medical providers are compensated appropriately.

24/7 Services From Experienced Medical Service Provider

Many advantages come with DataMatrix Medical. One of the biggest advantages is that the team continually works around the clock. Doctors and nurses work at all hours of the day. This includes weekends, holidays, and overnight. That is why the team from DataMatrix Medical does the same thing. Services are available 24 hours a day, seven days per week, to ensure that support is there when your practice needs it most. This can go a long way toward reducing physician and staff burnout and minimizing turnover rates while maximizing patient care.

Work With DataMatrix Medical To Address Staffing Shortage Issues

Reducing the administrative burden placed on doctors and staff can reduce the impact of burnout. Also, reducing the burden can increase patient and medical professional satisfaction. Unfortunately, staffing shortages in the healthcare field are only going to get worse, which is why doctors and staff need to have access to the support they require. The team from DataMatrix Medical provides a wide variety of virtual services that can streamline patient visits while also addressing administrative tasks.