How HR is Different for the Healthcare Industry

[This article was written by Samantha Higgins.]

HR professionals in healthcare organizations hold important roles in organizational operation and activities. It is the responsibility of HR to resolve ethical and legal issues in a healthcare facility. The professionals should also attend to the safety and welfare of patients and employees as well as provide support and motivation initiatives to enrich organizational culture and enhance collaboration.

Due to stringent requirements such as the HIPAA, HR departments in healthcare facilities must adhere to security and privacy compliance and improve customer satisfaction. While human capital management, staffing requirements, and employee growth are priorities in every industry, additional consideration of quality care and patient outcomes increases the demand of the HR department in the health care industry.

The Roles of HR in Healthcare

In the healthcare industry, staffing needs, personnel management, training, and development fall under the HR’s responsibility: the HR department recruits and fires employees. If need be, the HR outsources medical transcription services that are HIPAA compliant to allow physicians to focus on the patient’s welfare. This department also makes decisions about the progress and personal health of workers. Several circumstances, such as a layoff, injury, and harassment, require workers to file a claim.

Human Resource professionals handle such claims through their knowledge of federal and state laws. In a healthcare setting, quality control is a vital role that HR performs by working with other departmental managers to develop professional development programs. HR also improves work productivity and quality by providing employees with continuing education opportunities.

Due to the multidisciplinary nature of a healthcare facility, with the help of regular meetings, the Human Resource department maintains open communication lines to manage organizational personnel better. Good communication builds trust and improves the relationship between employees and the administration while ensuring that quality control is effective. Furthermore, it is the Role of HR to oversee proper employee administrative affairs in a healthcare facility.

The HR department should understand the regulation, such as HIPAA, that governs the healthcare system concerning protecting patient information. The presence of an HR department in the health care setting is significant in delivering safe and effective services.

The Current HR Issues in Healthcare

Talent and skill affect today’s healthcare industry. Due to the shrinking skill and talent pool, there is massive pressure on healthcare professionals. For example, doctors have no time to type their medical notes and instead find it efficient to hire radiology transcription services to offset the burden of patient care.

HR must perform rigorous background checks to avoid potential liability and medical errors when recruiting medical and non-medical professionals. As the talent market becomes competitive, wages begin to rise, which can be challenging to smaller health facilities. In turn, smaller facilities succeed in the war on talent by offering a work-life balance option and flexible scheduling.

Burn out is a common challenge in the healthcare industry. Some medical professionals end up regretting their career choice. Low job satisfaction compromises patient outcomes and safety. For HR in a health care setting, it is critical to understand the burnout warning signs and intervene positively.

Outsourcing to Avoid Burnout

Burnout affects doctors’ productivity in performing their healthcare duties. Outsourcing certain services can ease physician burnout and improve their productivity. If you notice burnout signs among medical staff members, outsource tasks such as medical transcription, coding, and billing to service providers that are HIPAA compliant and those guided by data security practices.

Transitioning to an EHR is one cause of stress to most physicians since they focus more on patient care. Outsourcing transcription services can ease doctors’ work and help in EHR adoption. More so, outsourcing medical transcriptions save time for physicians to save more lives. Due to the importance of patient care accuracy, it is necessary to outsource transcription tasks since they require a high level of expertise for a final record void of errors.

The HR department is essential in providing quality health care. Effective human managers ensure that employees are motivated and satisfied with improved productivity. HR professionals must avoid overburdening medical staff members by outsourcing some daily tasks such as transcription and billing. When outsourcing medical transcription services, double-check for HIPAA compliance. HIPAA regulations emphasize on the importance of patient privacy and security.