The right workforce infrastructure makes for a healthier environment for everyone involved.
Burnout is one of the catalysts more popularly associated with physicians, but administrative burnout is quietly destabilizing healthcare. More than three-quarters (76.4%) of national healthcare leaders say that administrative work is overwhelming teams, a new survey reveals. Almost as many (75.5%) said that the administrative burden has increased in the last 12 months, rising faster than organizations can adapt.
Any time is a good time to improve staff and patient experiences and position your organization to scale. But since May is Mental Health Awareness Month, now is a particularly relevant time to examine the burden of administrative work, how it translates to the human experience and what you can do to create a better environment for staff, patients and growth.
Overwork Is Prompting Administrative Staff to Look Elsewhere
People tend to like their coworkers, and many enjoy their jobs as well.
But when you’re understaffed and administrative work piles up, one person might end up doing the work of 1.5 or even two people. These workers no longer have time to take a deep breath, talk with colleagues, get a coffee or even go to the bathroom. That leads to stress and burnout.
People whose lives outside the office involve kids or other demands may find themselves facing non-stop stress both at work and at home. They probably can’t change their home lives, but they can change their work lives. So, at that point, they may seek out other work options.
However, if you have a fully staffed office, with everyone doing the 40 hours a week of work they signed up for, people are far less likely to search for other job opportunities. In these situations, employees may even stay with your operation for five, 10, 15 or 20 years or more.
Lengthy Hiring Processes Can Result in Higher Employee Churn
Many organizations overlook administrative overload and its adverse impacts. But many others devote resources to understand and address it. The latter approach often involves running an advertisement or seeking word-of-mouth referrals to drum up local candidates to fill the gap.
But global average time to hire is 44 days. In healthcare, it’s even longer: an average of 56 days.
In the month or two that it takes your business to find and hire the right person, you may lose another staff member. This may come after you just hired someone else. It’s a vicious cycle.
For roles requiring in-person contact with patients, this is the best approach. However, many administrative roles can be done remotely. For those, you can hire within a week or two. Now staff has an end date. Knowing relief is coming soon makes them more willing to work with you.
Administrative Overload Creates Pain and Suffering for Doctors and Patients, Too
Treating patients is a doctor’s first responsibility. But doctors are also like executives, and many executives are on patient panels, so one doctor may have hundreds or thousands of patients.
In addition to treating patients, doctors need to make sure that patients get their medications, that the notes are done and that patient questions are answered. Patients frequently ask healthcare organizations about copays, insurance and other administrative matters. When administrative staff is unable to take care of these matters, they fall to the doctors to address.
Now a doctor may have to spend 15 to 20 more minutes with patients to discuss administrative matters. Everything gets backed up, leaving other patients waiting. It often also extends the doctor’s workday. A doctor who finished at 6 p.m. might end up working as late as 8 p.m.
Administrative overload is a slow creep. You may only be one person short, but now you’re operating at less than full capacity. Colleagues and patients will notice, and doctors may have to pick up some of the burden. If someone else leaves, things become even less optimal and more challenging. You need to get ahead of administrative burden before it becomes unmanageable.
Addressing Administrative Overload to Build Resilient Operations Is Becoming More Important
Administrative overload can also have serious repercussions on a healthcare organization’s ability to get reimbursed, pay its bills and address mounting regulatory requirements.
If you’re not fully staffed in your revenue cycle, you may not be able to get your claims paid on time. That may impede your organization’s ability to pay its bills, hire another person and grow.
Lack of adequate administrative staffing can also be a barrier to meeting compliance, funding, insurance and reporting requirements, which continue to grow. Nearly half (47%) of the healthcare leaders we surveyed cited compliance and regulatory as a top source of strain.
That makes having a reliable team, some of whom may be remote, critically important.
The Right Workforce Infrastructure Relieves the Burden and Creates a Healthier Environment
Part of having healthy mental health is having time to take care of yourself. But that’s just not possible when clinicians and staff are buried under an overwhelming administrative burden.
With the right workforce infrastructure partner, you can easily and efficiently support your existing team, stop searching for talent while you and your team continue to suffer and grow your business with trained, compliant professionals who work in secure, monitored operations.
After all, if you can’t take care of your staff – including administrative teams, nurses and doctors – you won’t be able to take care of yourself, your patients or the health of your clinic.
Rihan Javid, DO, JD, is a psychiatrist and co-founder of Edge, the flexible workforce platform for high-compliance industries. Edge unites people, process and AI technology to empower medical, dental, insurance and other businesses to scale operations in a compliant, cost-effective and fail-safe way – benefitting doctors, front- and back-office staff and patients.
