“Both of our COVID-19 research studies point to a few overlapping concerns: risks of closure due to financial implications, an uptick in non-essential staff layoffs, PPE shortages, clinical staffing shortages, and resource distribution concerns,” said Kate Shamsuddin, CPO of Definitive Healthcare.
FRAMINGHAM, Mass. (PRWEB) June 30, 2020
Definitive Healthcare, the leading provider of data, intelligence, and analytics on the healthcare provider market, today released results from its 2020 COVID-19 Acute Care Research Study, and its 2020 COVID-19 Physician Practices Research Study. Healthcare leaders from 81 different organizations participated in the study, spanning 34 different states – to understand how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the (1) acute hospital environment and (2) physician practices.
For the two COVID-19 studies, Definitive Healthcare surveyed 161 healthcare leaders across the United States – uncovering the ways acute care organizations and physician practices prepared and adapted, along with what might be on the horizon as they work to accommodate a variety of challenges in this uncertain time. The collected insight shows highlights of the two studies’ findings:
Acute Care Organizations Survey: Impact of COVID-19
- COVID-19 Testing: 83% of organizations are utilizing multiple COVID-19 screening methods.
- Capacity Concerns: 43% of organizations predict they will reach bed capacity at some point in 2020.
- Risk of Closure: 40% of organizations are at risk of closure due to financial implications of COVID-19, where organizations with less than 100 beds are impacted the greatest
- Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Shortage: 72% of organizations have obtained PPE from means outside of their normal supply chain methods.
- Staffing Shortages & Layoffs: 30% of organizations predict clinical staffing shortages due to exposure to COVID-19. At-risk organizations have laid off non-essential staff at over two times the rate of those not at risk (22% vs. 10%).
Physician Practices Survey: Impact of COVID-19
- Telehealth Implementation: 95% of respondents have implemented a telehealth solution as result of the COVID-19 pandemic
- Capacity Concerns: 89% of organizations have yet to see their peak case rate.
- Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Shortage: 82% of physician practices have sourced or requested PPE from means outside of their normal supply chain method.
- Risk of Closure: 36% of organizations are at risk of closure due to the financial implications of COVID-19, 69% of which are organizations consisting of less than 10 physicians.
- Staffing Shortages & Layoffs: 25% of organizations predict clinical staffing shortages due to exposure to COVID-19. At-risk organizations have laid off non-essential staff at over three times the rate of those not at risk (38% v. 10%). 42% of affiliated practices have re-purposed their staff, sending them to the hospital to support COVID-19 response to patient care.
“Both of our COVID-19 research studies point to a few overlapping concerns: risks of closure due to financial implications – particularly in smaller organizations, an uptick in non-essential staff layoffs, PPE shortages, clinical staffing shortages due to COVID-19 exposure, and resource distribution concerns,” said Kate Shamsuddin, Chief Product Officer of Definitive Healthcare. “During this difficult time, Definitive Healthcare has created two maps to track and predict time-sensitive COVID-19 resource distribution and re-opening metrics. Our COVID-19 Capacity Predictor assists in predicting where, and when, important resources should be allocated as case volume continues to grow, and our COVID-19 Re-Opening Analysis Predictor captures key metrics that indicate when different states and counties can begin safely easing stay-at-home restrictions. We will continue to release Predictor series maps to give government officials, healthcare organizations, and the public free, predictive lenses to understand the crisis and plan accordingly.”
Please view the surveys in greater detail here.