How to fix staffing shortages in healthcare with AI
AI can help fix healthcare staffing shortages by addressing burnout, tedious paperwork, and complicated admin tasks.
This is the second post in our Healthcare AI series. Check out the first post on healthcare AI here.
Key Takeaways
AI isn't a magic solution for staffing shortages, but a powerful tool to ease the burden on existing healthcare workers.
Automating administrative tasks like paperwork and scheduling is a critical first step in using AI to alleviate staffing pressures.
AI-powered predictive analytics can help hospitals anticipate patient surges and optimize staffing levels, preventing burnout.
AI can offer decision-support tools and personalized training, empowering healthcare staff and improving job satisfaction.
The future of healthcare lies in a partnership between AI and human expertise, maximizing efficiency and ensuring compassionate patient care.
Last year, I started Multimodal, a Generative AI company that helps organizations automate complex, knowledge-based workflows using AI Agents. Check it out here.
WHO estimates a shortfall of 10 million healthcare workers by 2030. As someone who constantly works with healthcare organizations, while this number is concerning, it’s also very realistic. I have personally observed healthcare workers’ frustration with staffing while interviewing healthcare industry leaders on my podcast.
At Multimodal, as we work to automate many of the administrative and paperwork-related aspects of healthcare, I see that AI has great potential to address worker shortages. Let’s talk more about how this can play out.
Healthcare staffing shortage: the brutal numbers
In the healthcare battleground, staffing shortages are critical wounds that refuse to heal. The consequences are dire:
Burnouts: Existing staff is pushed to their limits. A post-COVID survey revealed an alarming 60% of clinicians feeling the scorching heat of burnout leading to exhaustion, and sadly, higher turnover rates further fueling the crisis.
The waiting game: From ERs to specialist clinics, long wait times have become the norm. Delays in care compromise health outcomes and leave patients feeling frustrated and neglected. I have often waited months for a simple physician appointment, and I am sure you face the same issues. It’s not the doctors’ or nurses’ fault, though. They’re just swamped.
The ripple effect: When healthcare workers are strained, patient care suffers. The risk of errors increases, personalized attention diminishes, and the overall quality of care is compromised.
Why are we short-staffed anyway? AI provides insights
The healthcare staffing crisis isn't a sudden meteor strike; it's a slow-burning fire that has been raging for years. Unraveling the root causes is essential if we want to deploy AI-powered solutions effectively. AI is a powerful diagnostic tool, revealing the hidden forces driving this shortage.
Understanding the roots
The problem is multifaceted, with tangled roots that AI can help us untangle:
Aging: The aging population is a major driver of increased healthcare demand. More elderly patients often mean more chronic conditions and complex care needs, putting immense pressure on the existing workforce.
The skills gap: Specialized fields see the worst of it. Think radiologists, surgeons, and specialized nurse practitioners. Training takes years, and the demand outpaces the supply of new graduates entering these critical roles.
Geographical disparities: Rural areas and underserved communities often struggle to attract and retain healthcare personnel like registered nurses and specialized doctors. AI can spotlight these hotspots, helping policymakers and healthcare organizations target their recruitment and support efforts more effectively.
AI is far more than just a number-cruncher. It can analyze vast datasets faster than any human team could, identifying hidden patterns:
Department downfalls: Is the perpetual shortage in the ER worse than in other wards? Does the issue worsen on certain days or during specific seasons? AI can reveal these fluctuations.
The blame game: Is the problem a lack of qualified applicants, or a high turnover rate? AI-powered analysis of historical data can help differentiate between these scenarios, informing you about how to best focus your solutions.
How AI solves these problems
Artificial intelligence isn't a silver bullet but a versatile tool that can offer solutions on multiple fronts. Here's a glimpse into how AI is already being deployed to breathe life back into an overburdened healthcare system:
Predictive AI in healthcare: AI can predict patient surges and staffing needs with incredible accuracy. AI's ability to analyze data patterns gives hospitals the foresight to allocate resources efficiently, reducing the chaos of understaffed wards.
The virtual assistant: AI-powered chatbots and remote patient monitoring tools can alleviate some of the burden on healthcare workers. These tools streamline triage, provide post-appointment follow-ups, and give patients a sense of connection, even from their own homes. For example, I’ve recently read how a Missouri-based hospital uses a dedicated AI system to monitor chronically ill patients remotely, resulting in a significant decline in hospital readmissions.
Paperwork automation: One of the primary areas where AI can have an impact is healthcare paperwork automation. AI systems can read, analyze, process, and sort a large volume of paperwork very accurately and efficiently - something we also work on at Multimodal.
Predictive AI supporting health systems
There are many ways in which Predictive AI can support health systems, but I’ll mention just the two I believe have incredible potential:
Forecasting supply shortages: AI analysis of inventory data, regional trends, and even global events can give facilities the foresight needed to proactively source supplies or plan alternatives.
Outbreak early warnings: By analyzing patterns in patient symptoms, emergency room visit data, and even social media trends, AI can potentially flag early signs of disease outbreaks. This provides communities with precious time to mobilize resources and potentially prevent a full-blown crisis.
Proactive problem-solving is less stressful for staff. When hospitals aren't in perpetual 'firefighting' mode, it reduces burnout and allows for a calmer, more focused environment where quality care thrives.
AI's patient-facing role - virtual assistants
AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants are already making inroads into the patient experience. It's essential to frame this positively, focusing on what these tools offer to ease the system's strain:
First line of support: Imagine an AI-powered chatbot that can answer common patient questions 24/7. It handles FAQs, provides appointment reminders, and even triages basic symptoms. This frees up phone lines and reception staff, allowing patients quicker access to help while ensuring those with urgent needs get prioritized.
Virtual companions: Especially for chronic conditions, AI-powered virtual assistants can support patients between appointments. They provide medication reminders, monitor symptoms, and offer personalized health tips. This sense of support can reduce anxiety, and even catch early warning signs of complications. Another example I can think of here is Sensely's virtual assistant "Molly". It is used for post-discharge support and has demonstrated a decrease in hospital readmissions.
Beyond convenience: For underserved populations, those in remote areas, or people with limited mobility, AI-powered patient-facing tools can be a lifeline. They offer access to care that might otherwise be unavailable, helping to bridge those gaps in the system.
Chatbots won't replace doctors. However, by handling routine inquiries, they allow human staff to dedicate their time and empathy towards those who need it most.
Healthcare paperwork automation should be a priority
Doctors spend 17% of their working hours on administrative tasks and paperwork. And this number doesn’t even account for nurses and other medical staff.
In my last post on healthcare AI, I talked in depth about how complicated paperwork is one of the reasons for sky-high healthcare costs. In essence, paperwork costs a lot and is the primary reason for physician and nurses’ burnout.
If burnout is a raging wildfire, administrative overload is the gasoline that keeps it burning.
That’s why paperwork automation should be our #1 priority in healthcare. AI can handle this task perfectly, as it excels at tackling repetitive administrative work.
Here are just some possibilities:
Patient notes: AI enables a world where patient notes are automatically transcribed and converted into structured data, ready for immediate use within electronic health records. AI models trained on vast medical terminologies can handle the nuances of medical language, reducing errors and giving physicians precious time back.
Claims processing: Claims processing is often fraught with errors and frustrating delays. AI, however, can automate the review process, flag discrepancies, and ensure claims are handled with speed and accuracy. This frees up billing staff, improves cash flow for hospitals, and means faster reimbursements for patients. It's a win-win-win.
The virtual scribe: Imagine dictating notes during a patient visit, with AI automatically converting them into structured data, ready to slot perfectly into the EHR. An example that comes to mind here is the Nuance's Dragon Ambient eXperience (DAX). It claims to reduce physician documentation time by 50%, freeing up clinicians to focus on their patients.
Beyond basic transcription: AI doesn't just type what you say. Advanced systems can analyze spoken words, identify key medical concepts and potential diagnoses, and even suggest appropriate treatment plans. Voice-controlled AI interfaces let clinicians navigate EHRs and dictate notes hands-free, reducing strain and saving valuable minutes with every patient interaction.
It’s clear that AI-powered document automation can result in many benefits beyond saved time.
Accurate, real-time documentation reduces errors, ensures complete patient records, and facilitates better communication amongst care teams. When doctors and nurses aren't chained to their keyboards, they have more time and energy for what truly matters - patient care.
Additionally, AI-powered healthcare paperwork automation also reduces workload bottlenecks:
The chart chase: Electronic health records (EHRs) promise efficiency, yet medical workers spend a lot of time and effort maintaining them. AI-powered natural language processing can automatically extract key information from patient notes, auto-filling charts, and eliminating hours of tedious data entry.
Coding conundrums: Medical coding is a minefield of complexity. AI systems can analyze patient records and suggest the appropriate codes, greatly reducing errors and speeding up billing processes.
Neverending forms: From insurance paperwork to patient questionnaires, administrative tasks never sleep. AI-powered chatbots can handle routine inquiries, collect patient information, and even schedule appointments, freeing up reception staff.
I read about Cleveland Clinic’s pilot program a while ago. With AI-powered medical coding, they’ve saved 20-30% of physician time. This is a great example of using AI to automate mundane healthcare tasks.
Recently at Multimodal, we built an AI agent specializing in labelling medical notes. This directly increased accuracy and reduced the time their staff spent on manual labeling.
Similarly, at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, an AI-driven system automated a significant portion of prior authorization approvals for medical procedures.
The bottom line is: automating healthcare paperwork is the first thing the healthcare industry should focus on. Also, it’s generally not as costly as designing a predictive engine or a full-scale virtual assistant, while still solving a critical issue of staffing shortages.
Other benefits
While the impact on staffing is crucial, AI's benefits ripple far beyond simply filling rosters. Here are some of the other ways AI can support existing healthcare providers:
Cost control through efficiency: AI-powered streamlining of processes can, over time, lead to cost savings. Less waste and fewer errors are good news for a hospital's bottom line, freeing up precious resources.
Improved research: AI's ability to analyze mountains of medical data aids in drug discovery, clinical trial analysis, and the identification of potential new treatments. This fuels progress that will benefit patients for years to come.
Personalized medicine: By analyzing a patient's genetic data, medical history, and response to past treatments, AI helps tailor treatments specific to the individual, maximizing effectiveness and minimizing side effects. When I interviewed Jayodita Sanghvi of Included Health on my podcast, she also spoke about how personalized medicine can have a far-reaching impact on patient outcomes.
The delivery bot: Robotic systems are being used for simple yet crucial tasks like medication delivery, transporting lab samples, and restocking supplies. This frees up nurses from time-consuming errands.
Precision assistance: Surgical robots, though controlled by human surgeons, allow for minimally invasive procedures with greater accuracy. This can translate to faster recovery times for patients.
Diagnostic power: Pathologists can be overwhelmed by the volume of slides they need to review. AI algorithms can pre-screen, highlighting areas of concern and potentially even identifying subtle cancerous changes that the human eye might miss. Faster, more accurate diagnosis translates to patients getting the treatment they need, sooner. This leads to improved outcomes, particularly in time-sensitive cases like cancer detection.
As hospitals tap into AI’s full potential to address staffing shortages, they'll also unlock benefits cascading outward - improved patient experiences, a more sustainable healthcare system, and the promise of advancements that make quality care available to more of those in need.
AI: your automated co-worker for happier staff
It's crucial to address the elephant in the room: when it comes to AI's patient-facing role, a touch of sensitivity is vital. AI shouldn’t replace clinicians but rather empower them.
By providing insights and tools that optimize resources, we can start to rebuild a healthcare system where staff feel supported, and patients receive the timely, quality care they deserve. The goal is to wisely use AI where it can make the most significant difference.
Upskill and Empower
AI is far more than a time-saving tool; it can be a powerful support system for healthcare workers, especially newer staff.
Learning with AI: AI-powered decision support tools act as a 'second brain' for clinicians. By analyzing patient data, they can offer reminders, suggest differential diagnoses, or alert staff to potential drug interactions. AI can also tailor learning modules to an individual's skill level and knowledge gaps. This accelerates the onboarding of new staff and ensures ongoing training is relevant and engaging.
Better decision-making: When clinicians have access to AI-powered analytics and insights, it reinforces their decision-making. This sense of empowerment combats burnout and leads to greater job satisfaction.
The key lies in seeing AI not as a replacement, but as an enhancement. By augmenting human skills with AI's tireless ability to process data and provide insights, we create a healthcare workforce that feels supported, equipped, and focused on what they do best: caring for those in need.
Let's not forget: easing the administrative burden and offering tools for support isn't just about efficiency gains – it's about giving dedicated healthcare workers the time, space, and mental energy to provide the compassionate, high-quality care every patient deserves.
I also host an AI podcast and content series called “Pioneers.” This series takes you on an enthralling journey into the minds of AI visionaries, founders, and CEOs who are at the forefront of innovation through AI in their organizations.
To learn more, please visit Pioneers on Beehiiv.
The realistic AI-powered future of healthcare
The healthcare staffing crisis won't disappear overnight, nor will AI magically solve every problem. The solutions, undoubtedly, lie in a multifaceted approach, with AI playing a powerful supporting role alongside traditional interventions such as increased compensation, investments in training and education, and policy changes that support healthcare workers.
Technology is best wielded when it augments human strengths rather than attempting to replace them. When it comes to patient care, the human touch will always be irreplaceable. The future of healthcare lies in harnessing AI and human expertise in a powerful partnership:
AI to tirelessly crunch data, providing clinicians with invaluable insights to guide their decision-making.
AI to handle the mind-numbing admin tasks, giving nurses and doctors precious time to focus on those moments of genuine human connection with their patients.
AI to identify trends and optimize resources, creating work environments where staff feel supported, less overwhelmed, and empowered to do their best work.
We're still in the early days of AI's potential in healthcare. Research is ongoing, and as these technologies become more sophisticated, we can envision even more transformative solutions.
Embracing AI as a strategic tool isn't about placing blind faith in machines, it's about empowering those who have dedicated their lives to healing. AI offers the potential to build a smarter, more sustainable healthcare system where staff feel valued, patients receive the best possible care, and the future of medicine shines brighter than ever before.
We’ll dive deeper into how AI can address other specific healthcare problems in our next (and last) post in this series.
Stay tuned,
Ankur