Job matching platforms for medical staff are booming
Talent crunch hits healthcare
In the summer of 2021, we reported on the talent crunch in healthcare. The shortage of doctors and nurses is felt all over the world. We have long known about the problem, but Corona has exacerbated it and brought it to the forefront of newspapers.
- According to data from the AAMC, the United States could see an estimated shortage of 124,000 physicians by 2034.
- A study conducted by the Robert Bosch Stiftung anticipates that by 2035, some 11,000 primary care physician positions will be unfilled in Germany and that nearly 40% of countries will be underserved or at risk of undersupply.
- A 2020 report from the World Health Organization noted that the world may be short 5.7 million nurses by 2030. COVID-19 acted as an accelerant, as healthcare workers with fewer physical and emotional resources must manage an immensely high patient load.
The industry's workforce-related problems are based on the complex interplay of many developments over the past decade—developments that were neither easy to predict nor simple to solve. And this is precisely why we're watching the many substantial, emerging digital health applications that focus on prevention, thereby reducing the burden on the healthcare system.
However, to solve the pressing supply problem and fulfill the demand for health workers, other solutions are needed.
Job matching platforms to the rescue
One possible interim solution to the talent shortage are platforms that enable more effective and efficient load balancing.
Last week, Gale Healthcare Solutions, a U.S.-based company that matches nurses with vacant shifts, made headlines. The company announced a $60 million dollar growth equity investment from FTV Capital.
The buyer pick matchmaking process behind Gale Health's marketplace is pretty simple: Hospitals or clinics post open shifts on the platform. Nurses can view them, apply for open positions, and get paid the same working day.
Obviously Gale Health is not the only company using the good old “Airbnb for X” startup template. IntelyCare, Wirmed, Care Rockets, and Workbee also come to mind when we talk about tech-driven job platforms. Even state institutions, like the Ministry of Social Affairs and Integration of the state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany, rely on tech-driven job matchmaking platforms.
Matching nurses with empty shifts is a no-brainer
Needless to say, all platforms know as well as we do that healthcare systems cannot function without skilled nurses. After all, adequate nursing staffing is increasingly recognized as an important factor in patient well-being. And this is particularly relevant in countries where democratic change is taking hold—especially given the fact that the distribution of purchasing power leans toward seniors.
This pressing need (and opportunity) is increasingly reflected in healthcare staffing market size forecasts. In the U.S. alone, the market is worth around $20 billion. The increasing demand for healthcare services across a wide range of specialties—reports project that 1.2 million new nurses will be needed by 2030 to address current shortages—will likely push this number upward in the coming years.
It’s questionable whether job matching platforms will solve the market’s problems
Network-driven job matching platforms, like those from Gale Health, offer a modern answer to one of the most pressing problems of our time. The question, however, is how sustainable the “Airbnb for Nurses” business model will be.
Distributing the workforce more efficiently will ease the situation in the short term, but it will not solve the problem of an increasing demand for healthcare workers, a retirement drain, rural migration, and an educator exodus. Not to mention the current stress levels, plus the overarching lack of fair and equal pay in the industry.
For such a complex problem, there is no simple solution. But there are strategies and practices that we can examine and put into play today. Job matching platforms are as much a part of this as modern policies.