We have heard from several of the practices we work with that they are working hard to figure out how to fill the nursing gaps they are facing. One practice told us they are trying to fill 45 open positions. While that may be an extreme example, the shortage is likely being felt by all cancer care providers.
U.S. News & World Report reported recently reported on the topic and highlighted some of the reasons for the shrinking pool of qualified nurses – especially for “high-end, high-tech nursing”:
- The retirement of the baby boom generation
- Younger nurses who just don’t have the experience yet to manage complicated patients who often have several chronic conditions
- Heavy workloads that prevent experienced nurse managers and administrators from spending quality training time with their staff
Leverage Patient Relationship Management Technology
To keep up with the demands of complicated cancer care and value-based care requirements – even amidst workforce shortages – many practices are looking for ways to work smarter. They are leveraging technology to:
- Streamline workflows
- Increase efficiencies
- Give nurses the tools they need to work at the top of their license
Enable nurses to do what they actually want to be doing: caring for patients.
This is where Patient Relationship Management (PRM) makes a significant impact. It can remove the barriers of physical location, access to information and prioritization of patient needs so that the care team can focus on their own role and responsibilities, making the most efficient use of skills and resources as possible.
The practices we work with are leveraging PRM to eliminate the need for voicemail messages, to coordinate routine tasks, to stratify patient needs according to risk, to standardize care with triage pathways, to monitor oral adherence and side effects when patients aren’t in the clinic and close the loop with patients by leveraging mobile technologies. In addition, when it comes to succeeding in value-based cancer care, implementing technologies that help manage patients at the population level can help simplifying compliance by streamlining processes, reducing duplicative tasks, allowing for transparency and ensuring reporting accuracy.
PRM will never replace the role nurses play in cancer care, but it can help you maximize the resources you already have in place and possibly help you mitigate the growing challenge of filling high impact, high value nursing positions.
To learn more about Navigating Cancer’s Patient Relationship Management digital platform, contact us today.