Why Are Practices Switching to Remote Medical Staffing in 2023?

What are the Top Medical Staffing Challenges in Healthcare?

Healthcare faces a fundamental economic problem: supply and demand.

While the demand for healthcare professionals keeps rising, the number of qualified workers isn’t maintaining pace. Some experts predict that by 2025, the U.S. will have employment shortages as high as 29,000 nurse practitioners, 96,000 nursing assistants, 98,000 technicians, and 446,000 home health aids. 

Unfortunately, healthcare staffing shortages aren’t limited to these traditional frontline workers. As providers and provider support systems become emaciated, other skilled professionals, like medical coders, are also seeing shortfalls as high as 30%, spreading healthcare teams thinner. 

This lack of talent makes recruiting skilled employees daunting for healthcare facilities that require specialized workers to deliver high-quality care. As the pool of qualified workers shrinks in proportion to demand, more and more responsibilities are being placed on the shoulders of the few healthcare professionals who enter the ring. 

Addressing these staffing challenges with remote medical staffing ensures practices remain sustainable and consistently deliver the high-quality care patients desperately need.

What are the Benefits of Remote Medical Staffing?

An increasing number of healthcare organizations are embracing remote staffing to gain better access to qualified medical staff. The Medical Group Management Association reports that nearly 35% of the healthcare industry has already gone remote. 

Remote staffing offers many benefits, especially concerning cost reduction and employee retention. Generally speaking, employing remote medical professionals eliminates the need for physical office space, reduces overhead costs, and saves time commuting. Additionally, remote staffing allows access to a broader talent pool, as healthcare organizations can tap into a global workforce, regardless of geographic location. 

Furthermore, remote workers and the teams they support enjoy a better work-life balance, which can lead to better overall employee satisfaction. Given the potential remote medical staffing offers, it's no surprise that healthcare facilities are taking advantage of the following benefits to meet their ever-changing staffing needs.

Lower Costs

The medical industry faces a unique challenge due to increasing employment costs, which are up 257% in only three years. Many medical professionals expect a hefty sum for their hard work and expertise, and rightly so, but with a shortage of staff, this burden can become too much to bear. 

Besides increasing wages, the costs associated with training and maintaining staff are exorbitant. This combination has made it increasingly difficult for medical facilities to retain quality workers. These shortages can lead to longer wait times, subpar care, or even medical errors. 

Remote staffing helps ease this issue before it becomes an even more significant problem at your practice. With remote healthcare marketers, billers, and assistants, for example, you can perform all your back-office tasks for a fraction of the cost of qualified in-house employees.

Reduce Burnout

The healthcare industry is no stranger to burnout, especially in recent years. Fortunately, remote healthcare staffing allows providers to expand their teams without increasing stress. 

By hiring remote medical staff, physicians and nurses can reduce their workload by offloading responsibilities. Not only does this approach help with employee retention and reduce burnout, but it can also improve patient care by having more staff present and available when needed.

Increased Productivity

In today's fast-paced work environment, practices need ways to streamline operations and increase productivity. Remote medical staff provides the flexibility that healthcare providers and staff are looking for. 

With fewer distractions and more autonomy, remote healthcare staff can focus on delivering quality care or completing administrative tasks, resulting in increased productivity and greater patient satisfaction. 

Likewise, remote staffers often specialize in particular niches to deliver high-quality performance. Instead of having team members wear multiple hats, you’ll get far more accomplished by having somebody who lives and breathes the task at hand. As they say, a jack of all trades is a master of none.

Better Health Outcomes

Improved care outcomes are one of the most significant benefits of remote staffing. This is because remote medical staff can work around the clock to provide care or complete critical tasks, even after regular business hours. Remote staffing can also lower the chances of medical errors that occur when teams are overworked or understaffed.

Improved Compliance

Hiring remote medical staff can also help keep your organization compliant. 

Since staying current with the latest billing rules or coding regulations is annoying and expensive, picking a great remote medical billing provider, for example, can often produce compounding benefits. Not only can you expect the work to get done, you no longer have to worry about it.

Best of all, technology has made monitoring and tracking remote staff easier, ensuring that they follow the same protocols and regulations as on-premises employees. These days, you can fully trust your remote team to get your practice compliant instead of worrying about them sleeping on the job.

How to Transition Your Practice to Remote Healthcare Staffing

Transitioning your practice from in-person to remote staffing may seem daunting, but the process can be smooth and successful with a step-by-step approach.

Step One

• Assess the roles and responsibilities of each staff member in your practice.
• Recognize practice workflows that are suffering from poor performance.
• Determine which tasks can be performed remotely and which require in-person presence.

Step Two

• Identify and invest in technology solutions that allow your staff to work remotely.
• Develop and communicate clear expectations with your staff, including work schedules, communication methods, and performance expectations. 
• Provide training and support to ensure your staff is capable and confident in their remote roles.

Step Three

• Regularly evaluate and adjust your remote staffing approach to ensure its effectiveness and efficiency. 
• Adjust your plan according to data and feedback.
• Partner with a remote staffing specialist team like DrCatalyst to ensure optimal performance and results.

By taking these steps, your practice can successfully transition to remote medical staffing in no time.

Turn To DrCatalyst For Your Remote Medical Staffing Needs

Remote medical professionals offer a pathway to access talented individuals while providing considerable cost savings and other advantages, such as increased flexibility and scalability. 

That’s why partnering with DrCatalyst is the best decision your practice could make this year. Our team of remote medical specialists is already helping countless clinics provide superior care, improve productivity, and lower costs. 

If you’re ready to conquer your staffing challenges and get ahead of the competition, now is the time to hire remote medical staff. Contact the DrCatalyst team for a risk-free consultation and start your journey to success now.