96% of Healthcare Facilities Hired Temporary Health Professionals

According to an AMN Healthcare survey, 96 percent of healthcare facilities hired temporary health professionals in the last 12 months to combat the shortage of permanent healthcare workers.

The healthcare staffing company surveyed the use of temporary allied healthcare professionals at 204 healthcare facilities, including 159 hospitals during the last 12 months.

“The widespread use of temporary allied healthcare professionals signals an emerging shortage of these workers,” Robin Johnson, Divisional President with AMN Healthcare, said in a press release.

“The same pattern of labor shortages prevalent in nursing and medicine now are affecting the allied healthcare professions.”

More than 22 million individuals work for the healthcare and social services industry, with 60 percent of them being classified as allied healthcare workers.

Seventy-five percent of healthcare facility managers responding to the survey indicated that they are seeking temporary allied healthcare professionals.

Most respondents—73 percent—said filling gaps for vacancies caused by staff departures is the primary reason for the use of temporary allied healthcare professionals.

“Turnover rates among healthcare professionals often are high, and turnover in a variety of healthcare professions has been exacerbated by COVID-19. The survey suggests that healthcare facilities are using temporary allied healthcare professionals as a means to fill service gaps caused staff attrition,” Johnson stated.

According to 39 percent of respondents, rising patient needs is the reason they use temporary allied healthcare professional, while 26 percent stated they use temporary allied healthcare professionals to cover staff member of vacation and 22 percent said temporary allied healthcare professionals supplement permanent staff during peak usage times.

The findings suggest the underlining harmful impact COVID-19 has on employee morale and wellbeing. Burnout and turnover among healthcare workers have increased in several months.

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) stated that 589,000 healthcare workers quit their jobs in September 2021, creating a new record of a 35 percent voluntary attrition rate.

Preventing burnout of existing staff is the primary benefit of using temporary allied healthcare professionals, nearly 71 percent of surveyed respondents stated.

“The use of temporary allied healthcare professionals can relieve the work burden on permanent staff, allowing them more free time to focus on family and personal wellbeing. It is a tangible way for healthcare facilities to show support for their staffs, beyond thank you notes, staff parties and other forms of encouragement,” Johnson stated.

In addition, 24 percent of healthcare facility managers responding to the survey indicated that preventing revenue loss is one of the benefits of using temporary allied professionals.

“Without an adequate number of laboratory technologists, imaging technologists, and other allied healthcare professionals, healthcare facilities cannot generate revenue from many types of ancillary services that are important to their bottom lines."

More than half of the facilities surveyed stated that temporary allied healthcare professionals had been either moderately or highly involved in addressing COVID-19 patient needs.

Critical parts of COVID-19 treatment teams include some allied healthcare professionals, such as respiratory therapists and laboratory technologists.

Respiratory therapists were the most in-demand, used by 26 percent of healthcare facilities. The impact of COVID-19 has accelerated this number.

After being temporarily depressed by the COVID-19 pandemic, patient utilization of medical procedures and other services is rising.

“Without the presence of laboratory technologists, imaging technologists, and other allied professionals, the tests and data required to conduct medical procedures and treatments backlogs, and the entire process can slow to a halt,” Johnson said.