International hospital workforce benchmark and implications for the uAE hospital market
Article written by ICME Healthcare
‘Workforce is a critical factor and major determinant for the hospital performance in terms of quality
IntroduCtIon Hospitals exhibit a sophisticated organizational structure and take a central role in the healthcare system through the centralized supply of personal and material resources for diagnostic, treatment and therapy of diseases and injuries. The provision of complex health services result in special requirements for the workforce especially in terms of highly differentiated and qualified professional competencies. Despite all medical and technological
IN SHORT ■ Healthcare is a workforce intensive industry with workforce payments accounting for more than half of total health expenditures
■ An analysis of the ratios for hospital full-time-equivalents (FTE) per hospital bed, depend on variations in population age and structure, mortality and morbidity characteristics, utilization patterns of health services and the accessibility
■ Cultural specifications In this part of the world, in particular the gender separation, necessitates additional staff
equipment, healthcare is a workforce intensive industry. In result, payments for health workforce account for 50-60 % of total health expenditures. Workforce is a critical factor and major determinant for the hospital performance in terms of quality, efficiency and effectiveness in the delivery of care. The challenge is to ensure a sufficient number of health workers (physicians, nurses, allied health professionals, etc.) with the right skills and in the right setting to respond to the demand for high-quality services and procedures in the hospital. But what is the right number? Can an optimal ratio for UAE hospitals derived from international benchmarks? An outlook on international hospital key facts can be an indicator, but also local specifications and requirements need to be taken into account.
IntErnAtIonAl outlook The provision of hospital care is dependent on a complex framework of social, political, economic, demographic and epidemiological factors, which all challenge the scope of work of the hospital workforce. The requirements for health workforce varies across countries and depend on variations in population age and structure, mortality and morbidity characteristics, utilization patterns of health services and the accessibility. Consequently,
in an international analysis the ratios for hospital full-time-equivalents (FTE) per hospital bed vary widely from 1.6 FTE per bed in Japan to 7.1 in the United Kingdom. The hospitals beds occupied are the FTE per bed ratio weighted with the occupancy rates of each country to provide a more detailed view on real ratios (figure 1). The benchmarks have to be interpreted
against the background of hospital market specific impact factors of each country on various levels. Each country and hospital market has its own specifics, which have an impact on the workforce ratios. Macro-level: Characteristics and specifications of the overall health care delivery system e.g. hospital-centric or GP-centric delivery system, availability of ambulatory or post-acute facilities and different funding and budgeting structures. Disease patterns as well as population structure esp. developed vs. developing countries have an impact on the demand for health services. Laws and regulations e.g. European working time directive influence the health workforce Hospital-level: dealing with challenges inside the hospitals and the market e.g. the skill-mix, wage levels, labor productivity, definition of working times and the level of outsourcing. In addition, the shortage of certain health professionals and the geographical distribution of health workforce, the overall number of beds and the occupancy rate Individual-level: focuses on variations in specific skill levels and qualifications within the professions, social trends e.g. early retirement, etc. and migration of health workforce The outliers in this analysis are Germany,
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