Staff Shortages Impact Patient Experience at Small Hospitals

Weave’s new research, The 2022 State of Healthcare Staffing, illustrates the negative impact the Great Resignation and burnout have had on the healthcare industry and the way staffing issues are impacting the patient experience. 

The survey looks into the way staffing shortages are impacting healthcare organizations, the reasons their staff are leaving, and the way healthcare practices are evolving to keep up with patient expectations. 

Top Insights Include: 

• Two out of three small healthcare businesses are short-staffed. 
• Ninety-seven percent of small healthcare businesses say delivering good patient experiences requires the most effective tools or technology, yet only 27 percent have invested in these tools for employees to do their jobs. 
• Only 51 percent of healthcare businesses meet monthly to understand the patient experience of their clinics or practices. 
• Eighty-three percent of healthcare professionals say they have had a staff member leave their practice in the last year. 

The study suggests that staffing shortages are directly impacting the ability for small healthcare practices to keep up with heightened patient expectations for care and communication. By turning to technology to help fill the gap, healthcare professionals can use their time to improve the experience within their practice.