Review of personnel shortages in federal health care programs during the COVID-19 pandemic

Review of personnel shortages in federal health care programs during the COVID-19 pandemic

Collection:
Health Policy and Services Research
Contributor(s):
United States. Department of Defense. Office of the Inspector General, issuing body.
United States. Department of Health and Human Services. Office of Inspector General, issuing body.
United States. Department of Justice. Office of the Inspector General, issuing body.
United States. Department of Veterans Affairs. Office of Inspector General, issuing body.
Publication:
Washington, D.C. : Pandemic Response Accountability Committee, September 2023
Language(s):
English
Format:
Text
Subject(s):
COVID-19 -- economics
Government Programs
Government Regulation
Health Workforce -- statistics & numerical data
United States
United States. Department of Defense
United States. Department of Health and Human Services
United States. Department of Justice
United States. Department of Veterans Affairs
Genre(s):
Technical Report
Abstract:
While personnel shortages existed in the health care community before the pandemic, the pandemic exacerbated these shortages. Maintaining an appropriate level of personnel in health care facilities is essential to providing a safe work environment for health care personnel and quality care to patients. The Pandemic Response Accountability Committee’s (PRAC) Health Care Subgroup developed this report to share insights into personnel shortages across four select federal health care programs, or the providers they reimburse (hereinafter referred to as “federal health care programs”). Together, these four programs provide health care services to approximately 20 million individuals. This report provides Congress, federal and state agencies, health care organizations, and other policymakers with information to inform and raise awareness on health care shortages across the four federal health care programs. Specifically, this report summarizes the types of personnel shortages most commonly reported; factors that contributed to personnel shortages; impacts most commonly encountered; and the incentives and strategies used to recruit and retain personnel, and minimize burnout for existing personnel across the four federal health care programs. OIGs identified the following key insights across the four federal health care programs reviewed. (1) Nurses and medical officers were the most commonly reported positions that experienced shortages during the pandemic. (2) A limited labor pool, noncompetitive pay, COVID-19 requirements, and a challenging hiring process were the most commonly reported factors that contributed to personnel shortages. (3) A decrease in patient access to care and patient satisfaction; and an increase in health care personnel work hours and responsibilities were the most commonly reported impacts resulting from personnel shortages. (4) Monetary incentives were the most commonly reported strategy to recruit and retain personnel. Even though the federal health care programs have incentives and strategies to attract and retain health care personnel, the programs still experienced personnel shortages throughout the pandemic. Consequently, additional action is necessary to staff normal operations and to strategically plan for future surges in personnel needed to respond to pandemics and other health care emergencies. The PRAC encourages policymakers to further explore the impacts of personnel shortages within the federal health care programs for possible strategies to mitigate staffing shortages and help ensure high quality, safe, and timely health care is provided to the individuals the programs serve.
Copyright:
The National Library of Medicine believes this item to be in the public domain. (More information)
Extent:
1 online resource (1 PDF file (iii, 103 pages))
Illustrations:
Illustrations
NLM Unique ID:
9918751186106676 (See catalog record)
Permanent Link:
http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/9918751186106676