One Change Healthcare Organizations Must Make To Stay Profitable In The Gig Economy

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This post contains sponsored advertising content. This content is for informational purposes only and not intended to be investing advice.

If healthcare workers weren’t already burnt out prior to the pandemic, the stress of operating during a healthcare crisis certainly did them in. The numbers show the incredible impact that healthcare employment decreased considerably in 2020, and the industry hasn’t bounced back. Now, experts are looking to the gig economy model as a solution for staffing shortages in the healthcare industry. 

Retail and service industries were among the first to excel in the gig economy, with the emergence of companies like Uber, TaskRabbit, and Postmates. This model gives employees the flexibility to work on their own terms, when and where they want, and it helps companies sustain business even in the midst of widespread worker shortages.

But the gig economy in healthcare is a little bit different. It’s more complex for healthcare providers and personnel to work varied gigs because they will still be required to have high-level certifications, training, and credentials. Working for a company like Uber has fewer necessary certifications than working as a freelance nurse or physical therapist. As the healthcare industry trends toward a gig economy model, the biggest challenge will be training and credentialing these contractors. Organizations must provide functional training tools and systems for managing certifications and skills verification to support healthcare gig workers.

With this in mind, the single most important change healthcare organizations can make to stay profitable in the gig economy is to invest in digital training and credentialing tools. Across industries, leaders and companies are investing in learning and development because research shows that training, reskilling, and upskilling initiatives are essential for the success of businesses. In healthcare, digital training will sustain the more complex business model that is the gig economy.

Invest in digital training tools that support flexible workstyles

The future of work in healthcare rests on organizations’ abilities to equip their teams with the necessary skills and knowledge. The onus of training falls on organizations and providers because they must set the standards for which skills are needed to fill certain roles. As healthcare organizations gradually adopt a gig-economy model, they must be equipped with the training tools necessary to reach prospective employees and freelancers. This requires a proactive approach. An investment in digital training tools that serve remote, hybrid, and freelance employees must happen before organizations plan to bring on gig workers. Without the right training tools in place, prospective gig healthcare personnel will not be able to jump into new roles at the rapid pace this work model will require.

Most healthcare-specific training platforms were designed with typical healthcare models in mind: workers sign on to work with a specific provider, stay with that provider for an extended period, and likely visit the same location (hospital, care facility, health center) regularly. Even further, most of these healthcare training platforms were created 20 years ago and do not have modern technological updates that enable more flexible work styles, like mobile applications, synchronous and asynchronous training, or offline work. The ExpertusONE LMS makes it easy for learners to engage with critical training courses no matter where they are located. Even further, healthcare organizations can easily track and run compliance reports so they understand where their employees stand in terms of certifications at any given time. 

Healthcare organizations need flexible, adaptable, digital training tools so that they can onboard and equip healthcare personnel in a timely manner. In the gig economy, training must be easy to deliver and easy to complete so that workers can be equipped to do their jobs.

Digitalize training credentials and certifications

Verifying credentials and certifications will be an essential process when healthcare organizations adopt gig-economy models. Healthcare organizations will need to know that the workers they hire are equipped, skilled, and certified to perform highly specialized tasks in accordance with industry regulations. This becomes complex, however, when individuals work with multiple organizations, on multiple job sites, and on varied schedules—as is typical of gig-style work. 

The ONE-Profile Card is a QR-based credentialing system that enables healthcare workers and providers to verify skills, certifications, and credentials no matter their location. This is a critical tool that empowers gig-economy workers to take on new jobs and show up with their certifications in hand. The ONE-Profile card streamlines the credentialing process so that healthcare organizations can check certifications and skills on the spot. Tools like this will transform how healthcare industry leaders relate to the gig economy, equipping and empowering healthcare organizations to embrace a wider range of workers, both employees and freelancers, to maintain a full staff, provide care for patients, and stay profitable in a changing economy. 

The company has also launched a healthcare training strategy workbook that can guide healthcare organizations on what types of digital tools will best serve their companies, and how to implement them into their compliance strategy. 

As more healthcare organizations embrace the gig economy model, the most important investment they can make is in training—specifically in digital training tools and credentialing platforms. With these tools available, healthcare organizations can work with a larger set of healthcare professionals to provide care. It’s time to embrace the gig economy in healthcare and support freelance medical professionals with digital training and certification tools. 

This post contains sponsored advertising content. This content is for informational purposes only and not intended to be investing advice.