Addressing the Nation’s Healthcare Workforce Shortage: Leaning into Virtual Care

While our nation reached a spending level of  $4.5 trillion on healthcare in 2022, we are still facing widespread workforce shortages and limitations in access to care, specifically among rural and underserved populations.

Thankfully, with ongoing innovation, evolving regulations, and health systems willing to explore creative strategies – new solutions are on the horizon.

A recent study by McKinsey & Company estimates that within five years, more than 50 million in-person additional visits per year could be converted to virtual visits if adoption were extended equally across patient segments, including those who live in rural counties and underserved communities.

ViTel Net has worked with a range of leaders in the industry to close the gaps in care for rural communities including its recent support of ECU’s North Carolina Statewide Telepsychiatry Program (NC-STeP) to deliver remote psychiatric services through community partners. In doing so we’ve been able to create proven frame-works to help health systems scale and optimize their virtual care strategy, whether launching, extending, or revamping new and existing programs.

ViTel Net recently launched 2024 Digital Harvest: Your Playbook for Planting Success in Digital Care – and this comprehensive guide offers a proven framework for launching, extending, or revamping of virtual care programs.

…and offers actionable insights and step-by-step guidance with real-world case studies and best practices. 

As part of a larger strategy that includes building strong staffing partnerships and finding creative ways to manage and pool resources, virtual care is becoming a core strategy for addressing workforce shortages.   

What Healthcare Leaders Are Saying..

Critical staffing shortages and lack of access to care are crippling our health systems. Rural areas and underserved populations are impacted the most by these challenges. Telehealth enables highly qualified specialists to reach these vulnerable populations and facilitates improved outcomes by increasing the quality and volume of services available. Addressing the digital divide and ensuring that our citizens have broadband access is key to preserving the impact that Telehealth can have on our overall health as a population.

Dr. Pamela Ograbisz, Vice President of Clinical Operations, LocumTenens.com & LT Telehealth

With telehealth, not only are you cutting the travel and the cost of placing a physician or a nurse, but often, clinicians are willing to work at a lower pay rate for the benefit of staying home and performing visits virtually…Further, there’s a lot of interest among physicians in providing virtual care. We fill almost 100% of the virtual care jobs we offer our physician panels.”

Matt Brown, Vice President of Telehealth, CHG Healthcare