Surging Demand and Emerging Clinical Roles Bring New Challenges to Healthcare Industry

WASHINGTON, D.C., Nov. 5, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- A surge in demand and the emergence of new roles for healthcare professionals raise fresh challenges for hospitals, health systems and other care facilities, according to new data and analysis released at the Third Annual Healthcare Workforce Summit.

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The summit, sponsored in part by AMN Healthcare Services, Inc. (NYSE: AHS), the innovator in healthcare workforce solutions and staffing services to healthcare facilities across the nation, runs today through Friday, Nov. 7.  The Summit brings together healthcare industry leaders and researchers to discuss pressing workforce challenges that confront today's acute and non-acute healthcare facilities. Workforce issues are fundamental to the industry's success, since staffing accounts for more than half the budget of nearly every healthcare enterprise.  

"Many people have been predicting increasing shortages and shifting responsibilities within the healthcare workforce due to the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The rapidity and magnitude of the demand surge this year have been much greater than expected. Over the last six months, our clients' needs for clinicians rose abruptly and have surpassed pre-recession levels," said Susan Salka, President, CEO and Director of AMN Healthcare.  

The ACA and other pressures not only increased the need for more healthcare workers but also the need for new and emerging types of workers.    

This trend is reflected in the results of a national survey of clinical and human resources leaders, "Emerging Roles in Healthcare 2014," to be released Friday at the Summit. The survey, conducted by the Center for Professional Advancement at AMN, shows that many emerging roles ranging from Care Coordinator to Chief Experience Officer are in response to regulatory incentives and mandates, particularly for transitioning from volume- to value-based care. These include increasing patient satisfaction, reducing readmissions, expanding team-based care, achieving quality metrics and other indicators.   

"New and emerging healthcare roles are driven by some of the same forces that are driving up overall demand," said Marcia Faller, RN, PhD, Chief Clinical Officer at AMN Healthcare. "For instance, the rising position of care coordinator reflects in part the aging of our population which results in more chronic conditions that must be properly managed. Many of these positions were relatively unknown only a few years ago and are now growing as healthcare transforms."

In addition to the aging population's need for more healthcare, other pressures driving increasing demand and emerging roles include the ACA covering 30 million new consumers by decade's end, greater hospital revenue due to fewer charity and uninsured cases, an improving economy resulting in greater consumer spending on healthcare, new technology requiring ever-greater expertise, and the deliberate movement to value-based care in order to drive down costs, improve quality and expand the reach of healthcare.

"This surging demand and the growth of new workforce roles constitute an important juncture for the healthcare industry – and the national economy," Salka said.  "The healthcare industry is the most vibrant sector of our economy, projected to add 5 million jobs by 2022.  The quickly rising demand for healthcare professionals that AMN is now seeing will spread throughout the industry.  Not only are these important trends for the healthcare industry, but they're also a catalyst for our nation's economy."

About AMN Healthcare
AMN Healthcare is the innovator in healthcare workforce solutions and staffing services to healthcare facilities across the nation. AMN Healthcare's workforce solutions -- including managed services programs, vendor management systems and recruitment process outsourcing -- enable providers to successfully reduce complexity, increase efficiency and improve patient outcomes within the rapidly evolving healthcare environment. The Company provides unparalleled access to the most comprehensive network of quality healthcare professionals through its innovative recruitment strategies and breadth of career opportunities. Clients include acute-care hospitals, community health centers and clinics, physician practice groups, retail and urgent care centers, home health facilities and many other healthcare settings. AMN Healthcare disseminates news and information about the Company through its website, which can be found at www.amnhealthcare.com.

SOURCE AMN Healthcare Services, Inc.