It’s becoming a tired complaint: “Healthcare is broken!”  If only it felt like an expired topic. Alas, it persists.

And of course, there are thousands of solutions in the air.  Some of them are getting traction.  But they don’t seem to be moving the needle enough to alter the public’s experience.

In 2019, with a little encouragement by KPMG, Mark Britnell did a deep dive on the global staffing problem.  He’s not just complaining! He describes the problems, and then adds thoughtful suggestions for addressing them.  To be merciful, here’s a summary of his points:

 

The preface of Human: Solving the Global Workforce Crisis in Healthcare by Mark Britnell outlines a looming global shortage of healthcare workers, driven by demographic shifts and systemic challenges.​

Key Points:

  • Projected Shortfall: By 2030, the world will require approximately 80 million healthcare workers but is on track to face a shortfall of 18 million.

  • Contributing Factors: An aging global population increases healthcare demands, while the ratio of employed workers to dependents declines. Additionally, younger generations exhibit less job stability, exacerbating workforce instability.​

  • Cognitive Dissonance: Despite acknowledging the importance of healthcare workers, many leaders fail to implement strategies to support and retain them, often underestimating the impact of technological disruptions on the workforce.​

  • Lack of Coordination: Current literature often addresses immediate staffing issues without offering comprehensive, strategic solutions. There’s a noted absence of collaboration among various stakeholders, including clinicians, educators, technologists, and policymakers.​

  • Human-Centric Approach: While technology can aid in addressing workforce challenges, it should complement rather than replace the human elements of compassion, empathy, and dignity essential to healthcare.

Britnell emphasizes the need for ambitious, coordinated efforts to address the impending crisis, advocating for strategic planning and collaboration across sectors to ensure a resilient healthcare workforce

You must check out the graphic on page 7 of Britnell’s preface. One image can say so much.

The guy is not shooting low.  The proposed strategies are extremely ambitious. But given the scale of impact on this GLOBAL problem, can we afford to play small?

I will augment this post with more.  The body of knowledge around this problem space is exploding. And new solution ideas are also emerging just as swiftly.

Dave