2010 NAO Conference

The Centrality of Healthcare Workforce Research to the AHEC

Linda M. LaceyDirector, Office for Healthcare Workforce Analysis & PlanningSouth Carolina AHEC

Abstract

• Understanding the extent to which AHEC-sponsored recruitment and retention programs are meeting their intended goals requires some knowledge of the broader context in which those programs operate.

• The basic elements used in workforce analysis will be reviewed and the role of healthcare workforce research in program planning and evaluation will be examined.

What is healthcare workforce analysis?

• Counts of supply

• Assessment of the educational pipeline capacity and production of new graduates

• Measures of need or demand for the specific type of healthcare professional being studied

• Assessment of balance between supply and demand

• Forecasting the future: supply/demand

What is the value of healthcare workforce analysis?

• Historical analyses allow you to measure progress toward a goal

• Is diversity increasing? At what pace?

• Provides an evidence-based starting point for policies and programs

• Should state $$ be used to build a new dental school or support community college allied health programs?

• Forecasting can warn of problems up the road• Aging of the primary care workforce in rural areas

What is needed to do workforce analysis?

• Data

– Accessible

– Reliable / consistently measured

– Valid / accurate counts

• Potential Data Sources

– State licensure boards for head counts

– University and community college systems for pipeline capacity and graduates

– Various sources for need / demand data

What is needed to do workforce analysis?

Other data sources:

• HRSA – for forecast models & baseline estimates of physicians and nurses

• AAMC – state-level data for primary care and specialist physicians / resident counts

• National associations for healthcare professionals

• National associations for educational programs

• National associations for licensing boards

Critical elements for counting supply

• License status

• Workforce status• Yes / No

• Full time / Part time or Hours per Week

• Practice location (geography)

• Practice setting and/or specialty

• Personal demographics: age, race, gender, education

Critical elements for counting the pipeline

• Inventory of active education programs

• Count of seats in each program (student capacity )

• Count of graduates from each program

• Information about exam pass rates (if applicable)

• Number, type and location of residency programs

Critical elements for assessing need or demand• Need Assessment

– Population counts by county

• By age / race / gender

– Expert panel to determine staffing levels

• Demand Assessment– Service delivery incidents / volume

• By type / severity / location

• Linked to patient/population characteristics

– Knowledgeable analyst or econometric model

This is a lot of work.

What’s the pay off?

Example: Are there areas of the state where we should concentrate diversity improvement programs?

Example: Where is the need for geriatric CE greatest?

Example: What types of employers are dealing with an aging workforce?

   # of LPNs

% of LPNs # of RNs

% of RNs

All Employment Settings Under 40 3,039 33.5% 12,491 37.1%

AGE 40 - 54 3,932 43.3% 14,393 42.7%AGE 55 + 2,102 23.2% 6,788 20.2%

  Total - All Ages 9,073   33,672  

Home Health Under 40 83 30.4% 428 32.2%AGE 40 - 54 104 38.1% 598 45.0%AGE 55 + 86 31.5% 302 22.7%

    273   1,328  

Hospitals Under 40 544 28.1% 9,357 43.1%AGE 40 - 54 884 45.6% 8,952 41.3%AGE 55 + 509 26.3% 3,380 15.6%

    1,937   21,689  

Long Term Care Under 40 1,304 37.2% 377 24.4%AGE 40 - 54 1,409 40.2% 616 39.9%AGE 55 + 788 22.5% 551 35.7%

    3,501   1,544  

Medical Offices Under 40 566 36.0% 522 32.6%AGE 40 - 54 705 44.8% 685 42.8%AGE 55 + 301 19.1% 393 24.6%

    1,572   1,600  

School of Nursing Under 40 na na 90 15.1%AGE 40 - 54 na na 258 43.4%AGE 55 + na na 247 41.5%

        595  

Questions? Comments?

Thank you.

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