Healthcare News of Note: Front-line healthcare workers leaving jobs without having another one lined up, McKinsey survey shows

• More than 15 million U.S. workers, and counting, have quit their jobs since April 2021, a record pace disrupting businesses everywhere, a survey shows.
• Most hospitals and health systems have yet to optimize their use of technology, according to a recent HFMA survey of healthcare finance leaders.
• Two areas likely to see telehealth expansion are chronic care management and urgent care, according to a report on a survey by The Center for Connected Medicine and KLAS Research.

Over the last few weeks, I have found these industry news stories that should be of interest to healthcare finance professionals.

1. The Great Attrition is real, but employers need to understand why workers are leaving

According to an article in the McKinsey Quarterly, published Sept. 8, “More than 15 million US workers—and counting—have quit their jobs since April 2021, a record pace disrupting businesses everywhere.”

More importantly, employers do not understand why their employees are leaving and what types of companies are attracting workers.

What employees want

“If the past 18 months have taught us anything, it’s that employees crave investment in the human aspects of work,” the authors wrote.

The article is based on separate surveys, spanning multiple industries, conducted by McKinsey of employers and employees in Australia, Canada, Singapore, the United Kingdom and the United States.

According to the authors, what employees want includes:

• A renewed and revised sense of purpose in their work
• Social and interpersonal connections with their colleagues and managers
• A sense of shared identity
• Pay, benefits and perks, but also to feel valued by their organizations and managers
• Meaningful — though not necessarily in-person — interactions, not just transactions

How many employees are likely to quit?

According to McKinsey’s employee survey:

• 40% said they were at least “somewhat likely to quit in the next three to six months”
• 18% said “their intentions range from ‘likely’ to ‘almost certain’”

These findings held across all five countries McKinsey surveyed and were broadly consistent across industries, according to the authors.

Industries at risk for employee loss

“Businesses in the leisure and hospitality industry are the most at risk for losing employees, but many healthcare and white-collar workers say they also plan to quit,” the authors wrote. Healthcare ranks fifth when it comes to employee attrition in the six sectors studied.

In fact, 42% of healthcare and social-assistance workers who quit did so without having a new job — “a reminder of the pandemic’s toll on frontline workers,” according to the authors.

Across industries, 64% of employees were willing to quit a job without another one in hand, as was the case for 36% of surveyed employees who had quit a job in the past six months. 

“This is yet another way the Great Attrition differs fundamentally from previous downturn-and-recovery cycles—and another sign that employers may be out of touch with just how hard the past 18 months have been for their workers,” the authors wrote.

Trend toward continued attrition

The authors believe these trends may persist. Among employers surveyed:

• 63% are experiencing greater voluntary turnover than they had in previous years
• 64% expect the problem to continue — or worsen — over the next six months

2. Few hospitals and health systems have optimized technology, HFMA survey shows

Most hospitals and health systems have yet to optimize their use of technology, according  to a recent HFMA survey in which 112 healthcare finance leaders shared their views and projections about corporate services and health IT. Guidehouse, which sponsored the report, provided analysis of the data.

Key takeaways

A few highlights from the research report include:

Automation technologies gaining steam. Although 82% of respondents are already on their automation journey, the majority are still in the early stages, according to provider responses.

• 19% report their automation investments have driven positive results and say they’ll look to expand their capabilities
• 31% have already deployed automation technology and are monitoring results
• 32% have acquired or designed/built such technology and are in the testing stage
• 19% have not acquired or implemented such technology

Optimization opportunities abound. The report states, “Only 8% of hospitals and health systems are using a fully optimized enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, the survey found. About 32% of health system leaders said they have deployed a system, but it is not optimized yet.”

Corporate services spend will increase for many respondents. According to survey results:

• 47% of respondents expect their organization’s corporate services budget to increase by up to 10% in the next 12 months
• 25% of respondents project decreased spending

Key areas for expenditure reduction are supply chain, IT and revenue cycle management, according to survey respondents. Michele Mayes, Guidehouse partner and Operational Effectiveness solutions leader, points out that optimization also can improve efficiency and create a more resilient future.

3. Chronic care management and urgent care service areas are likely to expand telehealth use

Although telehealth use overall has leveled off as doctor offices and hospitals have reopened, two areas likely to see telehealth expansion are chronic care management and urgent care, according to a report on a survey by The Center for Connected Medicine (CCM) and KLAS Research.

“Offering telehealth services for chronic care patients can provide them with more consistent care, while virtual urgent care visits may likely help patients avoid expensive in-person appointments,” the authors wrote.

The survey of 96 professionals was conducted in May and June at U.S. hospitals and health systems to better understand how health providers are approaching telehealth technology.^a 

Survey highlights

Other key findings from the report include:

• A large majority of health organizations (80%) report that telehealth accounts for less than 20% of total appointments.
• The number of health systems measuring telehealth usage and patient satisfaction has increased, compared with an earlier survey.
• The majority of respondents report patient access to technology/broadband and uncertainty around future reimbursement levels as the top two barriers to advancing telehealth.

“The wide-scale implementation and mass migration of patients to telehealth was a watershed moment in the technology’s development,” the authors wrote. “But it remains unclear what the future holds. Certainly, telehealth isn’t likely to go back to pre-pandemic utilization—health systems have too much invested to let these solutions gather dust.”

^aFor the purposes of this survey, telehealth was defined as healthcare services delivered via digital and telecommunication technologies, including virtual visits by video and telephone, remote patient monitoring and electronic correspondence with care teams.

HFMA bonus content

Read the Sept. 17 article, “Site-of-care payment issues get highlighted by UnitedHealthcare and MedPAC,” by Nick Hut, senior editor.

Listen to the Sept. 13 “Voices in Healthcare Finance” podcast where Rumay Alexander, EdD, RN, a professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Nursing, discusses how the healthcare industry can begin to rebuild trust and shares practical advice about how to build a program around diversity, equity and inclusion.