Across all sectors, hiring is slowing down, and there are growing concerns about layoffs in the near future. This is particularly true in the healthcare industry, which is facing significant financial losses and ever-changing expectations to meet patient demands. Advisory Board reports that at least 23 health systems have laid off employees in 2022 to keep the lights on.
According to Kaufman Hall’s National Hospital Flash Report, this is partly because hospitals are experiencing some of the worst margins since the pandemic’s beginning. In July, lagging outpatient volumes shrunk revenues while expenses jumped up from June, leaving experts to believe that hospitals will continue struggling with finances and labor supply shortages through at least the end of the year — and potentially in 2023, too. As a result, many hospitals face the difficult decision to lay off employees and scale back critical patient services.
Understaffed hospitals and practices are doubling down on technology investments to help them get by in the wake of painful layoffs. Providers are demanding technology solutions to increase productivity and alleviate labor needs by automating specific administrative tasks. According to a recent Bain & Company survey, 45% of providers increased their software investment over the past year. Of those, nearly 80% cited labor shortages, inflation, or changes in leadership as the top catalysts spurring the new investments.
During this unstable economic crisis that’s forcing layoffs across various industries, healthcare providers need more assurance than ever that their investments in technology can help them gain revenue.
A Reliable Partner in an Economic Crunch
Rectangle Health understands the friction points in your administrative processes and helps you streamline those tedious duties to serve your patients better. You may not have the staffing you once did to manage an office, but we’re here to help.
Rectangle Health has been simplifying the business side of healthcare for decades and continues to expand to serve the needs of this growing and dynamic industry. Our patient engagement tool automates the perpetual processes of keeping your schedule full and the practice running smoothly while maximizing appointment scheduling and attendance with a series of automatic reminders sent via text, phone, or email and makes it easy for patients to book or request appointments on your website, emails, and social media pages. With our compliance software, we can better protect your organization’s data and reputation with high-level security and compliance measures to safeguard your patient’s health and financial information.
A New Source of Value and Efficiency
As understaffed healthcare organizations are forced to cut down services, Rectangle Health’s solutions can streamline critical duties and make up for the staffing some practices once had. Both tools enable practices to efficiently manage several tasks digitally, giving employees more time to serve patients with the highest level of attention and care.
Patients reap benefits from our tools, too. With the costs of goods and services rising, not everyone can afford necessary healthcare with an upfront, one-time cost. Our patient financing solution in Practice Management Bridge® makes care affordable for more patients by offering them flexible payment installment plans. Our innovative technology streamlines and improves practice revenue cycle management, enhancing the overall patient experience while increasing the bottom line for the practice.
Rectangle Health has provided unrivaled technology solutions to healthcare professionals since 1993. With industry-wide employee layoffs and renewed efforts on profitability, it is our ongoing mission to serve the ever-evolving needs of healthcare providers. Take a look at Rectangle Health’s solutions to see what products fit your practice best, or request a demo today.
References
- Bhattarai, A. (2022, Oct. 7). The job market is slowing, and this could just be the beginning. The Washington Post. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2022/10/07/jobs-labor-market-slowing/
- (2022, Sept. 28). These 23 health systems laid off employees ‘to keep the lights on’ in 2022. Advisory Board. Retrieved from https://www.advisory.com/daily-briefing/2022/09/28/hospital-layoffs
- (2022, Aug.). National Hospital Flash Report. Kaufman Hall. Rerieved from https://www.kaufmanhall.com/sites/default/files/2022-08/KH_NHFR_2022-08.pdf
- Landi, H. (2022, Oct. 19). Hospitals, practices doubling down on IT spending. Here are their top priorities for tech investments. Fierce Healthcare. Retrieved from https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/health-tech/hospitals-practices-doubling-down-it-spending-heres-how-they-are-making-tech
