Healthcare’s Workforce Management Digital Dilemma with Limited Focus on Employee Experience: Report

QGenda, a leading provider of workforce management solutions, today released a new report that reveals a critical gap in healthcare digital transformation strategies. The QGenda “State of Healthcare Digital Transformation: Untapped Strategies to Simplify Healthcare Workforce Management” report reveals that the needs of the healthcare workforce are often overlooked, with workforce management frequently omitted from comprehensive digital transformation strategies.

The survey report, which captures insights from 300 healthcare IT leaders, explores why workforce management remains a critical, yet underprioritized, area in healthcare’s digital evolution. The findings emphasize the need for employee-centric digital transformation strategies to address challenges like labor shortages, rising labor costs, and persistent employee burnout.

“The hidden costs of ignoring the employee experience in digital transformation strategies are exacerbating the healthcare workforce crisis,” said Dr. Patrick Hunt, Chief Medical Officer, QGenda. “Digital transformation efforts to improve workforce productivity and employee experience must extend beyond generative AI using large language models. By embracing automation, system consolidation, and employee-focused solutions for workforce management, healthcare leaders can not only alleviate workforce pressures but also drive better outcomes for both staff and patients.”

Key Findings from the Report

Funding Disparities in Digital Transformation Initiatives:

• 78% of organizations rate their digital transformation strategies as at least “adequately” funded.
• Healthcare leaders are prioritizing digital transformation improvements for the patient experience but overlooking the employee experience, even as annual burnout-related turnover costs healthcare $9 billion for nurses and $2.6 to $6.3 billion for physicians.
• Only 46% of healthcare organizations include optimizing workforce management in their digital transformation strategies.

Untapped Potential to Drive Workforce Productivity

• 74% of healthcare organizations still rely on manual processes for workforce management tasks that could be automated.
• 92% of healthcare leaders believe automating these manual tasks would improve workforce productivity.

Disparate and Disconnected Technologies Create Workforce Management Complexity

• Almost one-third of C-suite survey respondents say their organization feels stuck with legacy tech from vendors that aren’t focused on simplicity.
• 94% of healthcare IT leaders agree that technology consolidation is a critical component of digital transformation, but only 13% of organizations have consolidated their workforce management technology vendors.
• More than 85% of healthcare IT leaders believe that consolidating workforce management tech stacks positively impacts operational efficiency and productivity, yet only 28% are targeting system-wide workforce management technology consolidation.