Readers Write: How Healthcare is Using AI to Address the Staffing Shortage

How Healthcare is Using AI to Address the Staffing Shortage
By Ed Ricks

Ed Ricks, MHA is managing director of healthcare consulting for Baker Tilly US of Chicago, IL.

One of the greatest challenges facing healthcare providers in 2023 is staffing shortages, particularly among medical doctors and nursing professionals. This stems from a variety of factors, including shifting demographics with an aging Baby Boomer population that is increasing the demand for medical care, a generation of nurses and doctors retiring, the education system not being equipped to create enough new medical professionals, and the demands of the profession that was exacerbated from the coronavirus pandemic.

With staffing shortages not going away any time soon, patients are continuing to experience adverse effecting, including a greater chance for errors, higher morbidity and mortality, employee burnout and dissatisfaction, and patient dissatisfaction, which create a spiraling expense to provider organizations.

Nonetheless, many experts predict that the influence of AI can help address the shortage, so I thought I would ask an AI engine to tell me a story of how AI could help. Here is the response from ChatGPT:

Once upon a time, in a world filled with endless technology, healthcare was facing a major problem. The nursing shortage was plaguing hospitals and nursing homes, leaving patients without proper care.

But then, a group of tech geniuses decided to put their minds together and come up with a solution. They created AI robots designed specifically for the healthcare industry. These robots were programmed with all the knowledge and skills necessary to be a nurse, and they could work 24/7 without taking breaks or getting tired.

At first, people were skeptical about the use of robots in the healthcare field. But as soon as the AI robots started working, everyone was blown away by their efficiency and care. They could do everything a human nurse could do, and they did it better! They never made a mistake, and they never complained about working overtime.

The nursing shortage was soon a thing of the past, and hospitals and nursing homes were able to provide the best possible care to their patients. Everyone was happy, except for the nurses who had been replaced by the robots. But they eventually found other jobs, and they were happy too.

And that, my friends, is the story of how AI robots fixed the nursing shortage in healthcare and made the world a better place. The end.

While this sounds cool, the reality is that proven methods already blend AI technology using computer vision and other input feeds with a repeatable change management framework. By doing so, providers can apply advanced analytics to determine ROI and the best impact opportunities that will lead to dramatic results for their patients and their margins.

Using this type of technology can help harmonize workflows, automate documentation tasks, and simplify communications to give nurses time back to spend with their patients. This leads to reducing friction from the act of providing care. When this type of automation is coupled with a remote nursing and care strategy across an organization with appropriate change management, the results can be far greater.

When combining the use of a proven technology platform with proven outcome driven change management strategies, health systems can see a dramatic impact on reductions in staffing costs, nursing turnover and associated costs, and patient falls. They can also see improved patient outcomes and increased staff and patient satisfaction.

We don’t have to wait for the day that we really have the sentient robots running around delivering full care in health systems. Let’s use the available processes and AI tools now to help providers make a difference on their transformational journey.