“Where have the hospital's nurses gone?” is a tech story
Top of the Week
Goodbye parties for the ED’s best nurses and introductions to new nurses have become fixtures of working in a pandemic-era emergency department.
Where did the nurses go? A large part of the answer is “to the app”. Technology has made the nursing labor market competitive, much like in professional athletics or tech jobs. According to an Incredible Health survey in 2022, 34% of nurses said they planned to leave their jobs by the end of the year.
The travel nursing story has been well told. However, the nursing market change is much bigger than travel. Over a billion dollars of venture capital has been invested in nursing staffing technology. With that tech, applying to the next nursing job - whether because of burnout, for professional development, or to get a higher salary - has become simple. A few of the top innovators:
Incredible Health is a marketplace for permanent nursing jobs. Per a recent post, 25% of US nurses use Incredible Health. With this app, employers can “apply to the nurse”, empowering the nurse to accept the best offer. Incredible’s iPhone app is rated 4.9 stars with over 1,000 reviews.
ShiftKey raised a $300m funding round last week, valuing the company at over $2b. ShiftKey connects nurses to PRN shifts, allowing them to have flexible schedules, in the locations of their choice, for pay they negotiate.
Vivian Health’s value proposition (per a nurse’s quote on their website): “I don’t have to search dozens of job boards. I added my specialty, and the recruiters come to me!”
EM Practice
ACEP’s view of the FTC’s proposed ban on non-compete agreements. FTC’s public comment period about non-competes is open until 3/10/23.
Column by VACEP President Todd Parker: “Virginia patients deserve well-trained nurse practitioners.”
Powerful profile of Los Angeles’ MLK Community Hospital’s ED, where only 4% of patients have private insurance.
Why a New Mexico hospital switched from staffing its own ED to outsourcing its clinician management.
House of Medicine
As a result of AAEM’s lawsuit against Envision, lawyers are taking a closer look at the corporate practice of medicine laws across the country.
As health system margins shrink, United Health posted record profits in 2022.
The Wall Street Journal writes about the growth of medical residency unionization.
The No Surprises Act implementation continues to be challenging for provider groups.
Hospitals & Health Systems
An NBER paper showed that as the number of public US hospitals declined by 42% from 1983 to 2019, access to care among poorer populations decreased significantly.
KaufmanHall’s 2022 health system merger & acquisition report. A key trend was cross-market mergers, including Advocate-Aurora Health/Atrium Health, University of Michigan Health/Sparrow Health, Essentia Health/Marshfield Clinic Health Systems, and Sanford Health/Fairview Health.
The new Rural Emergency Hospital designation might not be a financial winner for health systems, per Modern Healthcare.
Nursing & Allied Health
How nursing shortages are affecting Charlotte’s hospitals.
Nursing unions are battling HCA over staffing levels across the country.
The Dispo
Inspiring article: “Ukrainian physicians collaborate on trauma techniques at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist”