• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to secondary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

  • Opinion
  • Health IT
    • Behavioral Health
    • Care Coordination
    • EMR/EHR
    • Interoperability
    • Patient Engagement
    • Population Health Management
    • Revenue Cycle Management
    • Social Determinants of Health
  • Digital Health
    • AI
    • Blockchain
    • Precision Medicine
    • Telehealth
    • Wearables
  • Life Sciences
  • Investments
  • M&A
  • Value-based Care
    • Accountable Care (ACOs)
    • Medicare Advantage

Hospital Leaders: Workforce Shortages Persist Amid Stabilization

by Fred Pennic 10/24/2023 Leave a Comment

  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email
  • Print

What You Should Know:

– Hospitals and health systems are seeing some signs of stabilization and margin improvement, but challenges around workforce, expenses and patient access persist according to Kaufman Hall’s 2023 State of Healthcare Performance Improvement report.

– Kaufman Hall experts expect that it will be a slow climb for hospitals to return to the 3-4% operating margins that help ensure long-term sustainability. While staffing and capacity issues have clear implications for revenue, an increased rate of claims denials—reported by 73% of respondents—has had the most significant impact on hospitals’ revenue during the past year.

Patient Access to Care Concerns

Patient access to care is a growing concern as hospital and health system leaders work to figure out what sustainable operations look like following a complete transformation in how patients interact with the healthcare system and providers. The report found that 66% of respondents’ institutions have run at less than full capacity at some point during the past year due to shortages, and 32% of respondents say that patient concerns or complaints about access to physicians are increasing.

Contract Labor Utilization Improvement

One area that is showing improvement is the utilization of contract labor, which appears to be declining. Only 4% of organizations are experiencing increased utilization of contract labor, compared to 27% last year. Almost all surveyed (98%) are pursuing one or more recruitment and retention strategies, including raising starting salaries or the minimum wage (90%).

Other key findings of the report include:

– Patients are increasingly seeking care in outpatient settings, as almost half of respondents say that volumes for outpatient surgery and provider clinics are above pre-pandemic levels.

– Despite the ongoing labor crisis, no respondents believe that their organization has fully optimized the automation technologies it has invested in.

– Supply chain issues have improved, but nearly three-quarters of survey respondents are still encountering distribution delays.

Report Background

The Kaufman Hall State of Healthcare Performance Improvement report is an annual publication that analyzes the performance improvement and cost transformation efforts of hospitals and health systems. This year’s results are based on survey responses from 106 hospital and health system leaders nationwide, including representatives from all regions of the country as well as from urban, suburban and rural markets.

  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email
  • Print

Tap Native

Get in-depth healthcare technology analysis and commentary delivered straight to your email weekly

Reader Interactions

Primary Sidebar

Subscribe to HIT Consultant

Latest insightful articles delivered straight to your inbox weekly.

Submit a Tip or Pitch

Featured Interview

Reach7 Diabetes Studios Founder Chun Yong on Reimagining Chronic Care with a Concierge Medical Model

Most-Read

Epic Launches Comet: A New AI Platform to Predict Patient Health Journeys

Epic Launches Comet: A New AI Platform to Predict Patient Health Journeys

Preparing for the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’: How Digitization Can Streamline Medicaid Eligibility & Social Care Delivery

Preparing for the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’: How Digitization Can Streamline Medicaid Eligibility & Social Care Delivery

Evernorth Health Services Invests $3.5B in Shields Health Solutions

Evernorth Health Services Invests $3.5B in Shields Health Solutions

KLAS Report: Oracle Health Faces Customer Losses and Declining Satisfaction

KLAS Report: Oracle Health Faces Customer Losses and Declining Satisfaction

Tempus AI Acquires Digital Pathology Leader Paige for $81.25M

M&A:Tempus AI Acquires Digital Pathology Leader Paige for $81.25M

Mira Launches Ultra4™, the First At-Home Hormone Monitor with Lab-Quality Insights

Femtech: Mira Launches Ultra4™, the First At-Home Hormone Monitor with Lab-Quality Insights

How Healthcare CIOs Can Solve the Unstructured Data Crisis and Reduce Storage Costs

How Healthcare CIOs Can Solve the Unstructured Data Crisis and Reduce Storage Costs

Healthcare C-Suite Acknowledges AI Potential but Lacks Trust

Sage Growth Partners Report: Healthcare C-Suite Acknowledges AI Potential but Lacks Trust

EVERSANA and Waltz Health Merge to Redefine Pharmaceutical Commercialization

EVERSANA and Waltz Health Merge to Redefine Pharmaceutical Commercialization

Advancing Diabetes Care: Combating Burnout and Harnessing Technology

Advancing Diabetes Care: Combating Burnout and Harnessing Technology

Secondary Sidebar

Footer

Company

  • About Us
  • Advertise with Us
  • Reprints and Permissions
  • Submit An Op-Ed
  • Contact
  • Subscribe

Editorial Coverage

  • Opinion
  • Health IT
    • Care Coordination
    • EMR/EHR
    • Interoperability
    • Population Health Management
    • Revenue Cycle Management
  • Digital Health
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Blockchain Tech
    • Precision Medicine
    • Telehealth
    • Wearables
  • Startups
  • Value-Based Care
    • Accountable Care
    • Medicare Advantage

Connect

Subscribe to HIT Consultant Media

Latest insightful articles delivered straight to your inbox weekly

Copyright © 2025. HIT Consultant Media. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy |