Inlightened today released its Q2 Insights Report, highlighting healthcare’s worsening workforce crisis, critical gaps and a system nearing its limit. 

In the survey, more than 100 practicing physicians, nurses, and healthcare leaders described a system that is less stable than it was just two years ago. The message from practicing clinicians is unmistakable and the people who deliver care are running out of time, capacity and patience.

Specifically:

• 70% say the U.S. healthcare system is less stable than it was two years ago, and nearly three-quarters (72%) expect it to worsen over the next 24 months
• When asked to identify the single greatest threat to system stability, provider burnout ranked #1
• Almost half (49%) anticipate their own organization’s staffing shortages will get worse

Asked to identify the top ways the system will decline, respondents pointed to a multi-front squeeze:  

• Clinician burnout (82%)
• Rising costs of care for patients (81%)
• Workforce shortages (77%)
• Reimbursement instability or funding volatility (77%)
• A rising number of uninsured or underinsured patients (71%)
• Provider exodus from clinical practice (62%)

 “The growing frustration is leading more clinicians to question their long-term future in the profession, which will create meaningful workforce challenges if left unaddressed,” said Karen Leitner, MD, internal medicine and pediatrics physician, certified coach for women physicians, and Inlightened network expert. “And this is happening at exactly the wrong moment: Patients are aging and presenting with more chronic conditions, complexity and need. The country is going to require more dedicated, qualified and experienced providers in the next decade—not fewer. If these pressures persist, it will become increasingly difficult to meet growing patient demand with the workforce available to deliver care.”

The findings are an important reminder to the leaders, organizations, and innovators making decisions about the future of care:

• Engage clinicians early in technology deployment
• Treat workforce sustainability as a leading indicator, not a lagging one
• Make expert insight a continuous input mechanism, not a one-time exercise

“These findings reinforce a critical gap in how decisions are being made across healthcare,” said Shelli Pavone, Inlightened co-founder and president. “Too often, policy, product, and operational decisions are made without direct, current input from the clinicians delivering care and the human infrastructure of our system is quietly eroding. Many experts in our network describe a system under increased strain, with growing concerns about burnout, workforce sustainability, and the ability to meet demand. As leaders, policymakers, and the industry plan for the future, the voices of those experts, and the realities they see every day, are more important than ever.” 

To review more survey findings and the full Insights Report, visit here.

To engage with Inlightened experts — or clients — sign up here.