2010 NAO Conference The Centrality of Healthcare Workforce Research to the AHEC

1. 2010 NAO ConferenceThe Centrality of Healthcare Workforce Research to the AHEC Linda M. Lacey Director, Office for Healthcare Workforce Analysis & Planning South Carolina AHEC

2. Abstract • Understanding the extent to which AHEC-sponsored recruitment and retention programs are meeting their intended goals requires some knowledge of the broader context in which those programs operate. • The basic elements used in workforce analysis will be reviewed and the role of healthcare workforce research in program planning and evaluation will be examined.

3. What is healthcare workforce analysis? • Counts of supply • Assessment of the educational pipeline capacity and production of new graduates • Measures of need or demand for the specific type of healthcare professional being studied • Assessment of balance between supply and demand • Forecasting the future: supply/demand

4. What is the value of healthcare workforce analysis? • Historical analyses allow you to measure progress toward a goal • Is diversity increasing? At what pace? • Provides an evidence-based starting point for policies and programs • Should state $$ be used to build a new dental school or support community college allied health programs? • Forecasting can warn of problems up the road • Aging of the primary care workforce in rural areas

5. What is needed to do workforce analysis? • Data • Accessible • Reliable / consistently measured • Valid / accurate counts • Potential Data Sources • State licensure boards for head counts • University and community college systems for pipeline capacity and graduates • Various sources for need / demand data

6. What is needed to do workforce analysis? Other data sources: • HRSA – for forecast models & baseline estimates of physicians and nurses • AAMC – state-level data for primary care and specialist physicians / resident counts • National associations for healthcare professionals • National associations for educational programs • National associations for licensing boards

7. Critical elements for counting supply • License status • Workforce status • Yes / No • Full time / Part time or Hours per Week • Practice location (geography) • Practice setting and/or specialty • Personal demographics: age, race, gender, education

8. Critical elements for counting the pipeline • Inventory of active education programs • Count of seats in each program (student capacity ) • Count of graduates from each program • Information about exam pass rates (if applicable) • Number, type and location of residency programs

9. Critical elements for assessing need or demand • Need Assessment • Population counts by county • By age / race / gender • Expert panel to determine staffing levels • Demand Assessment • Service delivery incidents / volume • By type / severity / location • Linked to patient/population characteristics • Knowledgeable analyst or econometric model

10. This is a lot of work.What’s the pay off?

11. Example: Are there areas of the state where we should concentrate diversity improvement programs?

12. Example: Where is the need for geriatric CE greatest?

13. Example: What types of employers are dealing with an aging workforce?

14. Questions? Comments?Thank you. See our website coming soon: www.officeforhealthcareworkforce.org Or follow us on Twitter: www.Twitter.com/SCOHWAP