Healthcare Staffing Shortage in 2025: Using AI for Healthcare Workforce Solutions

Healthcare staffing shortages in the U.S. are nothing new, but have been on the uptick in recent years. With high patient loads, older, sicker populations to care for, and an overwhelming amount of administrative tasks, it’s no wonder clinicians are stressed, burned out, and leaving the workforce. With the direct impact on care, operational efficiency, and revenue, healthcare leaders across every type of provider organization must look to using AI in healthcare to address the problem in a meaningful way, continue to provide quality care, and ensure financial sustainability.
GenAI and automation can give nurses 20% more time to spend on patient care, according to the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions.
Shortage of Healthcare Workers Persists
Healthcare workforce shortages continue to be at a crisis level. With an aging population of Baby Boomers, an increase in utilization, and clinical and non-clinical staff tasked with more and more administrative tasks, there’s no doubt the workforce gap will continue to widen.
Here are some of the most compelling statistics about healthcare staffing challenges.
- By 2028, there will be a shortage of 100,000 healthcare workers, according to Mercer.
- The number of registered nurses (RNs) needed will increase by 28.4% from 2.8 million to 3.6 million in 5 years, according to RegisteredNursing.org.
- Resignations among healthcare professionals have reached a staggering 600,000 per month, according to McKinsey.
- In the last 5 years, the average hospital in the U.S. turned over 106% of its workforce, costing $4.75 million, according to NSI Nursing Solutions.
Five Effects of Staff Shortages in Healthcare
The impact of staff shortages can be felt across healthcare organizations, including clinically, operationally, and financially. Here are five of the most significant ways the problem affects care, costs, and revenue.
- Patient Care
81% of healthcare leaders say delays in care are a significant challenge because of staffing shortages, according to a Philips report. Patients lack or have reduced access to care and often have issues making appointments. In fact, the American Association of Nurse Practitioners reports that more than 40% of Americans say they have experienced a “longer than reasonable” wait for care, and nearly half of those gave up seeking care altogether. Access issues have a direct impact on quality and outcomes—leading to errors and morbidity and driving costs.
- Patient Experience
With the move to healthcare consumerism, the patient experience has become a priority for organizations. Yet without enough staff, satisfaction, the patient experience, retention, and loyalty can all suffer. As organizations increasingly adopt value-based care models, delivering an optimal patient experience will become even more important for HCAHPS scores, reimbursement, and profitability.
In 2024, CMS reports that only 8.2% of hospitals earned CMS 5-star ratings.
- Efficiency
Higher nurse-to-patient ratios place added strain on an already overwhelmed system, leading to a backlog of administrative work, care gaps, and delays. Between $760 billion to $935 billion is wasted in the healthcare system, according to a recent JAMA article, and attributed to areas such as failure of care delivery, care coordination, and administrative complexity. As patients demand more transparency and control of their care, nurses are also spending more time in the EHR, responding to patient inquiries, and handling referrals, prior authorization requests, and prescriptions.
- Stress and Burnout
- Revenue and Costs
Frustration caused by long wait times can lead patients to walk out the door. In fact, providers lose money for every open or no-show appointment slot, on average. Without access to preventive care, screenings, diagnostics, and other services, organizations lose revenue. High labor costs to attract new talent are also high, and the annual average hospital cost of nurse turnover is $4.75 million, NSI Nursing Solutions reports.
With so many areas of an organization affected and no end in sight, healthcare leaders must look to deploy new solutions.
Addressing Healthcare Staffing Shortages
Research shows that using AI in healthcare can significantly reduce administrative tasks, improve clinical decision-making and outcomes, allow nurses to have more meaningful interactions with patients, reduce stress, enhance work-life balance, and redefine the nursing profession as we know it.
With greater efficiency and productivity, the technology’s impact on costs and revenue is expected to be profound. In fact, Accenture reports that by 2026, AI could potentially create $150 billion in annual savings for the healthcare economy.
For healthcare organizations to address healthcare staffing shortages in a significant way, while also delivering quality care and an optimal patient experience, leaders must include new approaches in their organizational strategies and healthcare staffing solutions.
Care enablement platforms that include clinical support solutions reduce administrative tasks, empower staff to work at the top of their licenses, curb costs, and drive revenue.
Comprehensive bundled solutions that integrate prescription renewals, centralized incoming clinical document management and data abstraction, and inbox management are helping organizations free up their staff from administrative tasks to focus on high-value work. Clinical documentation solutions that offer flexible options to fit any workflow, including GenAI and human expertise options, allow clinicians to achieve accuracy and efficiency, focus on their patients, and deliver an optimal experience.
With our clinical support solutions, provider organizations can finally address staffing shortages in a meaningful way, reduce administrative burden, drive efficiency, and allow clinicians to prioritize patient care. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you solve healthcare staffing shortages.