In this age of patient-centered care and rapid digital transformation, the healthcare IT industry is under pressure to incorporate ever-newer technological advancements that show promise for elevating the patient experience and improving health outcomes. If integrated appropriately, upgrades to legacy healthcare systems and developments in artificial intelligence, telemedicine, and data management can help establish a safer, and more efficient and accessible approach to diagnosis and treatment.
Healthcare IT can’t evolve on its own. It takes the efforts of skilled IT professionals to plan and execute complex projects in areas such as electronic health records, enterprise resource planning, clinical informatics, cybersecurity, infrastructure services, and business intelligence. A health organization must recognize its gaps before obtaining and retaining the talent necessary to stay technologically relevant.
The 4 Main Staffing Challenges in Healthcare IT
In 2024 and beyond, the following four obstacles are likely to lie ahead for many, if not all, organizations involved in healthcare IT:
Finding and Retaining Specialized Talent
Healthcare IT as a field comprises a broad array of specialized roles. Some of the most critical roles your organization may need to fill include:
- IT project managers
- Cybersecurity specialists
- Software developers
- Clinical informaticists
- Data engineers
- Application analysts
- Business analysts
Because these roles are in high demand, you can expect intense competition for the best talent. Even if you land a top-tier candidate, there’s no guarantee they’ll stick with you in the long term, as your competitors may be happy to poach your leading performers with attractive offers.
Adapting to Rapid Industry Changes
Technology evolves quickly, making it hard for the healthcare industry to keep up. In the last few years, the healthcare IT industry has seen the integration of artificial intelligence, real-time patient data, cloud computing, virtual reality, and a broader adoption of telemedicine amid the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s impossible to know what new advancements will disrupt how health organizations deliver their services, but it’s crucial to be prepared and scalable whenever the next big thing drops.
Balancing Full-Time and Contract Workforces
A good labor mix is important for meeting short-term and long-term goals. Your full-time employees can help the organization grow its IT capabilities over time, while a contingent staff can come in to fulfill more immediate needs. When both aspects are well-balanced, you can save a great deal on operating costs without compromising your ability to execute key IT projects.
Affording the High Cost of Consulting Agencies
When launching IT initiatives, many healthcare organizations bring in consultants to help evaluate their technological gaps and capabilities. Consultants, though, can be expensive, amounting to hundreds of dollars an hour and thousands of dollars a month. That cost may be too great for many organizations, particularly smaller rural providers, that could benefit most from launching IT initiatives.
Partner with Medix Technology to Overcome Challenges and Build a Flexible, Cost-Effective Healthcare IT Team
A ready and capable IT workforce can solve the above challenges, but recruiting, vetting, and hiring talent is time-consuming and resource-intensive. The answer is to team up with an industry expert dedicated to doing the work for you. With Medix Technology, you’re outsourcing your recruitment efforts and gaining a partner with intimate knowledge of the healthcare IT space. With more than 20 years of industry specialization, we can help you:
Unlock New Pools of Talent
Not only do we grant you access to a nationwide talent pool exceeding 3 million highly skilled candidates, but our omnichannel candidate experience combines on-demand tech with expert recruitment teams to attract and hire the precise talent you seek. Also, because we understand your industry and market, we know what kind of candidates you need to carry out any variety of IT initiatives successfully.
Reduce Hiring Risk and Turnover Costs With Contract Talent
As a 2024 recipient of the Best of Staffing Award for Talent Satisfaction, Medix Technology is proud to help candidates and organizations build strong employer-employee relationships. Using the MyPrint assessment tool, we can source candidates with a high likelihood of integrating successfully into your organization over the long term, thereby reducing the odds of landing a poor culture fit. Moreover, we offer flexible contract solutions that allow you to evaluate whether a candidate is right for you. You can then retain your top contract talent by offering them permanent roles.
Our flexible solutions also help your organization grow, scale, and shift as required. When you need to add to your IT staff for a new initiative, our team is on hand to sift through the talent pool for the best prospects for your vacant roles.
Balance Your Labor Mix
Instead of managing endless vendors and contractors in your pursuit of contingent talent, leave the search to your Medix Technology recruitment team. We take the reins on the whole process, including sourcing, interviewing, onboarding, scheduling, and even payroll management in some cases. Then, we can provide on-demand access to productivity, talent hours, and project spending metrics when you’ve integrated your new talent. There’s a reason why we’ve received the Best of Staffing Award for Client Satisfaction in consecutive years since 2019.
Minimize Your Use of Consultants for Short- and Long-Term Projects
Working with our specialized staffing experts allows you to spend just over half as much on hourly rates compared to a large consulting firm. You get the same quality work and expertise for a more sustainable cost.
If your organization is to thrive in the current healthcare IT landscape, it needs a combination of an active full-time staff, a contingent workforce, and cost-effective solutions. We offer all of that with no compromise on quality or efficacy.
Get in touch with us today to learn more about the advantages we provide to healthcare organizations such as yours.