In 2017, more than half of all nurses were age 50 or older and almost 30% were age 60 or older, according to the American Hospital Association. Although the COVID pandemic has increased burnout and the overall turnover rate of healthcare workers, leading to a large part leaving the field to start new careers, these statistics represent how much of the workforce is nearing the age of retirement. According to Deloitte’s 2022 Global Health Care Outlook, “talent-related challenges are one of the four biggest threats healthcare organizations face today.”
“The Association of American Medical Colleges projects a national shortage of up to 124,000 physicians by the year 2033. The US needs more than 200,000 new registered nurses each year to meet increasing health care needs and to replace nurses entering retirement.” (Source: American Hospital Association)
Between rising demand and staffing shortages in healthcare, how can healthcare providers keep up?
Leveraging An Outsourced Solution
As the demand for qualified RNs and physicians grows, so does the need for data processing of clinical records, medical insurance claim forms, prescription records, patent information, billing, network claim forms, and the list goes on… There’s no limit to the amount of data entry that needs to take place throughout the healthcare field. If you haven’t yet considered the benefits of leveraging a healthcare business process outsourcing (BPO) firm, now is the time.
What is business process outsourcing?
BPO is the name given to outsourcing all the data entry revolving around healthcare (clinical records, patient information, etc.) that must take place. Think compliance, claims, and even the customer service or patient satisfaction aspect of healthcare. By outsourcing what you can, you’ll be able to focus better on what simply can’t be outsourced; allowing you to face your recruitment challenges head-on.
Tips for finding the best healthcare BPO firm
When it comes to healthcare BPO firms, there are quite a few to choose from. You’ll want to make sure you find the firm that best fits your needs. Factors to consider when interviewing a firm include:
- Time Zone: To ensure you have the best opportunity to communicate, consider the working hours of the firm you are interviewing. Employing a firm with working hours that fall during your evening could make the partnership tricky. Not to mention, a decreased chance of optimal response and customer service (if you are contemplating using a BPO firm for other services).
- Bilingual Capability: You may also want to take the interviewing firm’s capacity for bilingual communication into consideration, ensuring that whichever firm you hire will easily be able to communicate with your employees and customers (if necessary).
- Additional Services: Finally, ask questions about what other services the firm in question offers. Can they assist with some other aspect of your business such as appointment scheduling, research, or managing blog posts? By streamlining as many aspects of your operations as you can, you’ll create the necessary bandwidth to solve your staffing shortages before they make a bigger impact on your bottom line.
The rising demand and staffing shortages in healthcare don’t have to fight for your attention. By partnering with a healthcare business process outsourcing firm, practices, hospitals, and health systems can continue to do the important work of improving and saving the lives of their patients. By taking these roles outside of the healthcare institution, administrators can focus their efforts on staffing to meet the needs of their communities.
Interested in learning more about medical answering services? Contact us today and learn how our team works alongside our healthcare partners to deliver the best patient satisfaction, while maximizing the efficiency of your administration and clinical teams’ time. Not quite ready to chat? No problem! Learn more about our medical answering services right here on our website.