The healthcare industry continues to experience fallout from COVID-19. Healthcare staffing issues including, a lack of healthcare providers, hospital staff shortages, and burnout, are more prevalent than ever, risking care delivery across the entire country.
Warning Signals
In a recent webinar hosted by U.S. News & World Report, leading healthcare experts raised the alarm as they discussed the serious impact burnout has on hospitals and health systems. Intensified by COVID-19, front-line staff across the nation continue to shoulder increasing stress.
Dr. Victor Dzau, president of the National Academy of Medicine, stated that since the onset of the pandemic, 60% to 75% of clinicians reported exhaustion, depression, sleep disorders, and PTSD, with nurses experiencing an equal or higher rate.
Dr. Ernest Grant, president of the American Nurses Association recently declared the nursing shortage a “national crisis” and requested help from the U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary. He noted that a recent ANA survey of nearly 10,000 nurses found that 25% plan to leave their job in six months, with an additional 30% considering leaving due to work stress. Dr. Grant warned there will not be any health or health care system if this trend of burnout continues.
A Washington Post/Kaiser Family Foundation survey also found that overall, 21% of healthcare workers feel “angry” when they go to work and 29% have considered leaving the healthcare field altogether.
The Status Quo Cannot Hold
Many problems that the pandemic has magnified are not new. In 2019, burnout cost the healthcare industry around $4.6 billion.
Healthcare systems have long struggled with outdated technology and processes. Add to that an aging population requiring more complex care for chronic health conditions, as mentioned by Dr. Robert Cherry, chief medical and quality officer for UCLA Health, and you have a scenario ripe for risk.
Webinar panelists noted that since the pandemic began, increased patient volume, more regulations, and additional requirements have further attributed to providers feeling overburdened, with less time to spend with patients.
It is more apparent than ever that the status quo is costing lives, money, and careers.
Dr. Dzau urged a system-wide change to minimize the demands posed by challenging technology, particularly EHR systems, to allow physicians to focus on patient care.
The healthcare industry cannot afford outdated technology or systems any longer. Clearly, “Something’s gotta give.”
And it cannot be healthcare staff.
Finding a Way Forward
Over the last 22 months, we’ve talked to many clients who have grappled with burnout as they searched for solutions that would alleviate the burden on their staff.
With over 100 years of collective industry experience, we’ve guided and supported a diverse range of IT initiatives for health systems, and we understand the stress and pressure our clients face.
At SureTest, we’re passionate about providing solutions that not only improve patient care and offer game-changing efficiency but also drastically reduce staff burnout.
EHR, third-party, and enterprise application testing is a vital function that any healthcare system needs to perform to mitigate risk, ensure patient safety, and validate effectiveness. But manual testing requires an immense amount of time, energy, and focus from clinical staff, which drains time from patient care delivery.
The Freedom to Deliver Care
SureTest transforms EHR, third-party, and enterprise application testing processes so healthcare professionals are free to focus on caring for their communities.
Our turnkey test automation solution is based on rigorous methodology and combines an extensive script library with a powerful persona engine. This revolutionary tool emulates your end-user experiences and validates workflow integrity with precision and speed.
With SureTest, you no longer need to pull IT staff, trainers, end-users, or clinicians into time-consuming, mundane, disruptive manual testing. Boost staff morale by giving them the freedom to focus on care delivery and high-level tasks.
In the pressure cooker situation that healthcare professionals currently face, manual testing can be one less thing on your team’s plate so they can focus on patient care.
What’s Next
Ready to learn more about how SureTest’s test automation solution can free your staff? Check out our solution or review our latest case study from our client Novant Health.