Why Digital Transformation is Imperative to Combat Healthcare’s Labor Crisis

As the coronavirus pandemic first spread across the globe, health systems turned to technology and virtual care while focusing their efforts on COVID-19 and its consequences. Physicians deployed digital tools to keep the worried well out of hospitals, to keep beds open for COVID-19 patients, and to support and manage conditions like pregnancy from the safety of patients’ homes. The same tools hospitals used to deliver remote care at the onset of the pandemic can serve as a stopgap during the present labor shortage. Health systems need to implement mobile self-care — consumer technologies like smartphone and tablet apps that enable consumers to capture their own health data without direct provider assistance. Providing continuous digital touchpoints to patients also strengthens feelings of safety and support on the patient end, addresses fears from healthcare staff that the labor shortage is compromising patient care, and provides a critical safety net for patients that were already struggling with access before hospitals suspended or eliminated services.