rural hospitals

Compensation alone is not enough to attract and retain healthcare providers [study]

Survey of 730 clinicians shows factors other than compensation, such as autonomy, flexibility, and culture, are untapped competitive advantages employers should use to attract and retain talent Conventional economics tells us that when demand outpaces supply, prices rise. That’s precisely what’s happening in the market for healthcare talent. The prolonged shortage of healthcare talent is driving up the average provider compensation. While this affects every healthcare employer, it’s especially challenging for rural healthcare to address because they don’t have the volume of patients to make up the margin. This means competing on compensation is a tough sell. Yet a new survey of 730 clinicians, including physicians and advanced practice providers (APP), suggests employers may not need to try. The findings were detailed in a new report titled, Survey insights: What to know about the clinician workforce today. The report summarized the findings this way: “Meet the market on compensation. Outperform […]

Four Effective Strategies for Recruiting Healthcare Providers to Rural Communities (3RNET)

Rural healthcare facilities face mounting financial and staffing challenges. With high operating costs, older patient populations, and increasing competition for medical talent, these facilities struggle to attract and retain providers. Simply matching metropolitan salaries is not enough. Recruiting success depends on appealing to providers’ deeper motivations. By highlighting the sense of purpose, lifestyle benefits, and community impact unique to rural practice, organizations can reposition themselves as meaningful alternatives to urban healthcare settings. To strengthen recruitment efforts, facilities must go beyond financial incentives and adopt a holistic approach. This means positioning rural healthcare as both a personal and professional calling, crafting authentic messaging about lifestyle and professional benefits, timing recruitment strategically with vacancy management, and implementing targeted tactics through both in-house and external channels. Long-term investments, such as rural residency programs, leadership development, and ambassador initiatives, help create a sustainable pipeline of providers who view rural practice not as a compromise […]

10 ways HWM helps rural healthcare recruiting shorten time-to-fill

Purpose-built software suite helps rural recruiters streamline every step of the process – from identifying ideal candidates to credentialing – reducing the time, costs, and administrative burden of healthcare recruiting by Intelliworx One of the keys to overcoming adversity is to focus on the things you can control. What may sound like personal development advice also fits well in a business setting. The challenge facing rural healthcare recruiters is a good example. The shortage of provider talent, while affecting the entire healthcare sector, has hit rural healthcare especially hard. Healthcare recruiters can’t control the availability of the talent pool, but they can improve the recruiting process to be in a better position to make an offer when the opportunity permits. That’s the central thesis behind our Healthcare Workforce Management (HWM) solution. We discovered this business pain through our work with the Healthcare Professional Scholarship Program (HPSP), which is managed by the […]

The ‘accidental’ building of recruiting software for rural healthcare

While we never intended to build recruiting software for rural healthcare, the power of observation led us to build a crucial solution for an underserved market by Intelliworx There’s an old saying that one problem tends to lead to another. Yet for an observant technologist, sometimes the most unlikely problems in business are synonymous with opportunity. Such was the case with our Healthcare Workforce Management solution. It’s a software product designed to help rural healthcare facilities reduce the time and expense of recruiting providers. The twist in the story is that we didn’t set out with the intention of building this product; rather, we discovered the opportunity in the course of delivering a completely different product. Digitizing forms is just the start of a business process Intelliworx got started more than 20 years ago with the simple idea of helping government agencies modernize their reported 23,000 different forms. Yet digitizing […]

A one-page marketing plan for rural healthcare to attract providers

Providers who choose to work in rural communities are drawn there for very different reasons; the key to effective recruitment rests in appealing to those motivations by Intelliworx Rural healthcare facilities are facing challenging financial times. Many have high operational costs combined with a low volume of patients. Patients in such geographies also tend to be older, more susceptible to chronic illnesses and underinsured. That combination drives up the cost of care while imposing a natural limit on cost recovery and revenue. If we sprinkle in a dose of difficulty with insurance, particularly with reimbursement, and we catch a glimpse of the vexing problem it is to deliver healthcare to rural America. The financial stress is having a compounding effect too. For example, an economic analysis by the USDA found 146 rural hospitals in the U.S. either closed or stopped providing inpatient services between 2005 and 2023. Further, the forecast […]

7 observations showing how rural healthcare is overcoming the provider shortage

Rural healthcare facilities are increasingly turning to nurse practitioners (NPs), international medical graduates (IMGs) and “non-residency” physicians to fill the gaps by Intelliworx They say constraint breeds creativity. When faced with limited resources, leaders find ways to apply those resources more effectively. Constraints tend to produce creative thinking that one might not have considered otherwise. One place we’ve found this to be true is rural healthcare. A persistent shortage of healthcare providers has forced the community, especially in rural areas, to find creative ways to solve this problem. That’s an observation we found woven throughout the 2024 Review of Physician and Advanced Practitioner Recruiting Incentives report. The report, which is the most current edition available, is produced by AMN Healthcare’s Physician Solutions division – formerly known as Merritt Hawkins. It’s compiled from a range of sources including other studies, surveys and most importantly, a “representative sample of the 2,138” provider […]

Regional provider compensation: There’s a wide delta between the highest and lowest

In one example, primary care physicians can earn up to $252,379 more annually by working in the highest-paying state in the PCP category (Mississippi) than in the lowest-paying state (Alaska) by Intelliworx The delta between the highest and lowest compensation among providers is staggering. You might think a provider stands to make more income working for a big city hospital than they do in a rural community, but that’s not always the case. Consider the following data – derived from the 2024 MGMA provider compensation data: Primary care physicians (PCP) can earn up to $252,379 more annually by working in the highest-paying state in the PCP category (Mississippi) than in the lowest-paying state (Alaska); Surgical specialists can earn up to $504,277 more annually by working in the highest-paying state in the surgical category (South Carolina) than in the lowest-paying state (Wyoming); Non-surgical specialists can earn up to $508,468 more annually […]

Many healthcare employers see the struggle to recruit nurses grow

Nurses are the backbone of the healthcare system, yet a dearth of talent means this persistent problem continues to weigh on employers by Intelliworx As it is with providers, healthcare employees everywhere are struggling to attract nurses. That’s according to a new report by the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA). Citing an MGMA Stat poll from May 2024, the report says, “22% of medical group leaders say their nurse recruitment and hiring efforts improved in the past year, while the majority (78%) say they have seen little change (43%) or experienced worsened conditions (35%).” The top factor contributing to this healthcare recruiting challenge is a dearth of talent. There simply aren’t enough nurses and it’s hitting rural locations even harder. Why? “While some practice leaders noted a smaller pool of candidates in their rural markets, most respondents pointed to tough competition for qualified candidates from hospitals and larger organizations with […]

3 systemic problems in healthcare that may magnify the talent shortage

3 systemic problems in healthcare staff that may magnify the talent shortage

Observations from three healthcare conferences suggest the short-term remedy for backfilling vacant provider positions may be making the problem worse in the long run by Intelliworx There’s an intense shortage of provider talent in healthcare. While there’s no disagreement over that fact, leaders may be unknowingly adding to the problem. That’s our takeaway after having exhibited at three healthcare conferences over the last six months or so. These conferences included the 3RNET annual conference, which is aimed at hospital administrators; the AAPPR annual conference serving recruiters who specialize in finding providers; and the ASHHRA which is for healthcare human resources staff. We sent a handful of people to work at the booth and walk the floor at each event. We universally heard about the talent shortage at these conferences – and made some observations about the way the industry is addressing this key issue. 1. Healthcare leaders are too busy firefighting […]

Report proposes well-researched ideas for solving the primary care physician shortage

Independent study suggests exposing residents to the benefits of primary care, working to develop PCP training opportunities and being more receptive to relying on advanced clinicians like NPs and PAs by Intelliworx Primary care may have an outsized impact on the overall health of a population. As the saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. But there’s more than just an old quip as evidence – there’s data: “Studies have repeatedly shown that having this regular, or usual, source of health care improves patient outcomes and reduces unnecessary utilization of emergency rooms and hospitals.” That’s according to a report and “primary care scorecard” by The Physician’s Foundation and the Milbank Memorial Fund. The report is built on top of a previous study by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM). The report concludes there’s an acute shortage of primary care providers (PCPs) in […]

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