The Future for Hospitals after the COVID-19 Pandemic
By Space Coast Daily // May 31, 2023
The COVID-19 pandemic was an unprecedented event that few of us could ever imagine happening.
However, those on the front-line – doctors, nurses, physicians, and other hospital staff were left to confront the challenges arising from the pandemic, with these challenges creating new issues within hospitals.
Dr. Bogdan Bichescu, Associate Professor of Management Science including the online MBA program in Tennessee at The University of Tennessee, details three essential solutions to fundamental issues for hospitals as they continue to rebuild and strengthen following the events of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Provider Shortages
As the backlog of surgeries and procedures slowly begins to loosen, its grip remains tight on hospitals that struggle with less staff – with previous staff having left due to the impact of pandemic restrictions, rules, burnout, and further personal reasons. With less staff available to work through the backlog of procedures, hospitals need to implement processes that motivate physicians to see and treat more patients while still providing exceptional service.
However, the burden on hospitals is set to increase due to independent physician offices disappearing because of rising costs and decreasing patient volumes due to the irregularity of the standards of these hospitals. To solve this issue and manage the influx of new patients, hospitals are encouraged to invest in more resources and processes for the affiliated physicians that would save them time and enable them to treat more patients.
Improved Schedules and Working Environment for Physicians
The rigors of the hospital system often require physicians to be available at a moment’s notice which was made worse due to the COVID-19 pandemic. To combat this issue, hospitals should implement multi-faceted processes which include:
- A stable working schedule with minimal callouts
- Provide the option for flexibility through smaller clinics
- Additional remuneration incentives
- Giving physicians multiple opportunities to be involved in the planning of a long-term future for hospitals
While hospitals will continue to operate according to pre-agreed operating procedures, it’s still essential for new procedures that will motivate physicians to continue providing trusted services in unfavorable working conditions.
Compete for Quality Physicians
Hospitals need to acknowledge that they are no longer in a position to attract quality and hard-working physicians merely by name or reputation. Instead, they must compete with other hospitals that market themselves in a manner that makes them more desirable – to the point that physicians will not want to work anywhere else.
In order to compete for physicians, hospitals must showcase their unique qualities or resources, such as their specialty and research departments, overall record, and available resources. This would incentivize physicians to focus on both their immediate and long-term futures if they believe that they have what they need to treat their patients with the utmost care and knowledge.
Conclusion
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused widespread disruption across hospitals that leave some in jeopardy of falling into disrepair – environments that few physicians would ever enter due to the environment and career prospects
. The three solutions that Dr. Bichescu provided can be implemented immediately by hospitals that would enable their patients to be treated effectively while strengthening their reputation.
Providing fantastic services is considered paramount even with the issues of cost reductions and patient treatment times.
