Solutions to expand Hawaii’s health workforce

There is a healthcare shortage in Hawaii.

Hawaii needs an estimated 710 to 1,008 physicians (not including nursing, dental, and mental health professionals) to ensure that people can receive the care they need.

I was excited to attend the 2022 Hawaiʻi Health Workforce Summit, a one-day conference for all healthcare professionals in Hawaiʻi. The summit focused on solutions to the workforce shortage and physician burnout.

Dr. Kelley Withy and the Hawaii/Pacific Basin Area Health Education Center (AHEC) did a fabulous job, as always, of putting together panel discussions on topics resolving around geriatrics, substance use, rural health, and provider resilience. It was amazing to see so many people take time off to talk about solutions, share their experiences, and create a feeling of energy and excitement in the room.

The first panel discussion, “Active and Emerging Solutions to the Workforce Shortage in Hawaii,” set the optimistic and practical tone for the summit. Nadine Tenn-Salle, MD spoke with healthcare leaders from diverse backgrounds, including practicing physicians and healthcare administrators.

As a healthcare administrator for a Hawaii nonprofit organization, I felt a shared experience when speakers talked about the administrative burden of healthcare, low payments, and high caseloads that challenge healthcare professionals everywhere.

All attendees and sponsors were invited to prioritize 5 of the 38 solutions to expand Hawaii’s health workforce for AHEC to focus on in the coming years, in the areas of professional factors, family issues, financial factors, training pathways, and models of care delivery.

Here are my top five solutions for healthcare in Hawaii:

1. Increase health insurance plan payments and salaries to health care providers. Medicare and Medicaid payments are lower than commercial payments (employer-sponsored plans). By increasing payments rates, adding cost-of-living or inflation adjustments, and creating allowances or incentives for rural communities where it is hard to find and retain healthcare providers, healthcare providers could have fewer barriers to working in Hawaii – and fewer reasons to look for a job outside of Hawaii.

• Expand telehealth services and ensure equitable payments for telehealth services. A 45-minute visit could turn into a 2-hour visit when factoring in traffic and parking, and can cost patients more in terms of time off from work, gasoline, transportation, and parking. Telehealth services are a practical and effective way to increase access to care for people with transportation or mobility issues, people on Neighbor Islands or rural communities, and people with caregiver responsibilities.

• Expedite health care provider credentialing with health insurance plans. Healthcare professionals cannot receive payments for their services until they are credentialed with health insurance plans. At our center, some healthcare plans take 2-4 weeks to approve providers, which others can take 4-6 months. With expedited credentialing, healthcare professionals could see patients sooner and healthcare organizations could receive payments for their services.

• Eliminate the general excise tax (GET) on health care. Food and healthcare are basic necessities, and should not be subject to the general excise tax. Without the GET, private practice physicians and clinics could see an immediate 4% savings, which could help them to hire, train, and retain healthcare staff.

• Expand training programs for health care providers. Looking to the future, we need to encourage students today to consider a job in healthcare and provide greater access to training, as well as support people who are considering a job in healthcare or who want additional licensing or education.

The ultimate goal of these discussions about health workforce shortages and barriers to practicing medicine is for each healthcare provider to find joy in healing (again).

What has been your experience with your primary care physician and your health insurance plan? If you are a healthcare provider, what drew you to healthcare – and what would encourage you to continue to practice in Hawaii?

Explore posts in the same categories: Community, Health

Tags: AHEC, Area Health Education Center, Hawaii Health Workforce Summit, Healthcare, Healthcare Workforce Shortage

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