DHS Projects Healthcare Staffing Shortage Will Exceed One Million
We are all too aware that the healthcare industry in the U.S. is experiencing significant staffing shortages today. Based on a recent analysis conducted by a division of DHS, the gap in staffing is set to grow even more critical over the next dozen years.
The National Center for Health Workforce Analysis, part of DHS’s Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA), released on March 24, 2024, a projection of gaps between now and 2036, and the news may even be worse than imagined. The chart below shows the projected shortages across the major categories which, in total, is estimated to be 1,012,250. Some quick takeaways by category include:
Nursing is by far the profession with the most acute shortage of almost 440,000 professionals. Registered Nurses comprise three-quarters of that gap, with the remainder being LPNs.
Mental Health Professionals are next highest on the list filling four out of the top eight roles. The sub-group most in need are Addiction Counselors followed by Mental Health Counselors for a total shortage of more than 157,000.
Primary Care and Family Medicine Physicians and General Internal Medicine sit in positions 5, 9, and 10, respectively. This group totals more than 131,000 below the expected demand.
On the plus side, there is far less need for OB-GYN’s and Pediatricians, with those among the most covered.
What Is Happening to Solve the Issue?
The causes for this acute shortage are widespread, ranging from shifting demographics, insufficient supply of healthcare professionals, as well as the pervasive impact of the COVID pandemic. The shortages are also creating a vicious cycle of burnout and extreme stress, causing professionals to flee. Ultimately, patients are the losers because it takes longer for them to be seen, and their visits are shorter.
The Bureau of Health Workforce (BHW) is working to address the staffing shortfall and supplying needed personnel into rural communities. According to BHW, they accomplished the following last year:
Nearly 22,000 health professionals in BHW’s loan and scholarship programs cared for over 23 million patients.
More than 60 grant programs supported over 500,000 students and clinicians, including nearly 13,000 in behavioral health and 31,000 in nursing.
Nearly 66% of BHW’s 22,500 training sites supported medically underserved communities.
We will have to see how well we can close the gap that was already underway even before the pandemic exacerbated it. The first step is to get more talent into the system, followed by backfilling with traveling staff, per diem nurses, and virtual nurses. Finally, minimizing the administrative burden on staff is essential so that they can be patient-focused as much as possible.
