Why the hidden healthcare workforce matters so much

Healthcare organizations depend on connected role coverage. Nursing and Allied Health roles are essential, but the wider healthcare workforce also plays a major part in keeping care moving.

This month, we’re focusing on six key Non-Clinical areas:

• Clinical Operations — including Clinical Reviewer RN, Utilization Review Nurse, Utilization Reviewer and UM Intake Specialist.
• Administrative & Front Office — including Registration Clerk, Practice Assistant and Contact Center Representative/Scheduler.
• Patient Services — including Patient Navigator and Case Worker.
• Revenue Cycle — including Coder II.
• Hospitality & Environmental Services — including Environmental Services Technician, EVS Cleaner, Cook, Food Server and Dietary Aide.
• Corporate Support — including HR Analyst.

Each role group supports a different part of healthcare operations.

• Clinical Operations roles help support review, coordination and decision processes.
• Administrative and Front Office roles help patients access care, ask questions, schedule appointments and move through the system.
• Patient Services roles help people understand next steps and stay connected to care.
• Revenue Cycle roles support documentation, coding and financial flow.
• Environmental Services, hospitality and dietary roles help care environments stay clean, prepared and supported.
• Corporate Support roles help healthcare organizations function behind the scenes. 

Whole-workforce staffing matters because healthcare pressure does not stay in one department. The failings of healthcare systems often come down to the simple things not happening – trollies in the corridors, drugs arriving late, delaying patient discharge, reports not being completed on time, cleaning materials being missed off the repeat order resulting in schedules and rotors cascading into chaos!

Healthcare organizations are horrendously complex. They have lots of moving parts in their executive and administrative layers, underpinning by a heavy dose of policies and regulatory pressures that can tip healthcare performance over the edge. The people who make all this operate smoothly are those hidden roles that don’t make any headlines.  

When you pass the bus stop in the hospital car park and see a train of ordinary people in the slacks and workwear heading for the entrance, those are the boys and girls starting their next shift to keep ‘the wheels on the train; and make sure every patient gets through their healthcare experience in a respectful and efficient way. 

At t4h, we support healthcare organizations across the wider workforce that keeps healthcare moving. It’s not just about the folks in the blues and whites. We know that, and we appreciate the ‘hidden’ healthcare workforce; those work heroes and champions who shoulder the load every day to make healthcare work for everyone. 

Check out our work opportunities: Talent4health.com