The impact of this shortage is affecting most anesthesia practices in a
number of ways. As the market tightens, compensation demands
increase, which is a normal economic response to a scarcity of
providers where the price of anesthesia care is a function of the supply
and demand for qualified providers. Given this situation, many
providers continue to take advantage of the opportunity to find better
positions and move away. This attrition makes the recruitment and
retention of providers ever more challenging. For many of our clients,
recruitment has become a constant challenge.
The Main Reasons Providers Seek Other Employment Options
Money is not always the primary factor in a provider’s decision to leave
a practice. Every provider must ultimately decide on an appropriate
balance of income and lifestyle. A ten percent increase in compensation
is probably not enough to justify a change in job; but, if the provider
feels he or she is being overworked or underpaid, then jobs that offer
fewer hours or a lighter workload become attractive.
As a result of the pandemic, many anesthesia providers have decided to
either reduce their workload or retire from practice. Another significant
factor is the provider’s perception of the security of the practice’s
contract with the facility. Some providers become particularly jittery
during contract negotiations.
Reasonable Strategies to Manage Staffing Challenges
Practices facing staffing issues have three options. They can reduce
services, which is not ever a desirable option. They can find ways to
provide the services more efficiently, which may involve changing the
staffing model. They can request additional stipend support from the
facility. This is the most common option but may prove to be the most
challenging because it involves convincing the administration of the
need to pay providers more. Many a hospital administrator will argue
that giving more support to one department will require a reduction to
another so that the budget is neutral. Obviously, anesthesia practices
can argue that anesthesia is an essential service: it is impossible to
manage an OR site without quality and appropriate staff of qualified
providers.
The fact is that every anesthesia practice should be monitoring its
budget closely. Attempting to recruit new providers with a more
generous compensation package will ultimately impact the compensation of all providers. This can be especially challenging given
the growing impact of Medicare and Medicaid discounts.
The advice often given to parents may well apply to anesthesia
practices: try not to permit today what you will regret tomorrow. The
current situation will not be resolved with short-term fixes but will
inevitably need long-term thinking. Keep in mind that effective keys to
success involve accountability, collaboration and innovation.