Even though staffing shortages in the healthcare industry existed a few years before the pandemic, COVID-19 has exacerbated the problem, specifically in long-term care and nursing facilities. According to an international-level survey by Ipsos, 42% of respondents identified staffing shortages in the healthcare sector as the primary concern in their country.

Estimates further suggest that over a million healthcare workers lost their jobs in the first two months of the pandemic. Even though many professionals have rejoined, staffing is short and has not returned to pre-pandemic levels.   

Apart from pandemic-related challenges, a few other reasons also contribute to rising staffing shortages in the healthcare industry. One such reason is a shift in demographics, which has put a strain on medical workers to respond to an increase in baby boomers and their need for long-term medical care.

Moreover, stressful work environments and longer shifts have caused severe burnout, leading to high employee turnover rates. Another consequence of high turnover rates is that it makes organizations unable to invest their time in the core function of training and development of medical workers; all their time is spent onboarding new hires.  

Augmented reality plays a crucial role in providing innovative solutions to managing adequate staffing levels. AR enhances efficiency, optimizes training and development and improves clinical decision-making. It also creates a healthy and supportive work environment that retains skilful professionals. 

How Does Augmented Reality Work? 

Augmented reality overlays real-life environments with digital augmentation. In simple terms, AR enhances real-life objects using computer-generated capabilities. There are three essential components of the technology: the combination of physical and digital worlds, interaction with real-life objects in real-time and registration in 3D.

How does AR Manage Staffing Shortages in Healthcare? 

• The deployment of AR-enabled smart wearables in the healthcare sector can transform patient care education by providing tailored learning programs. Healthcare facilities are able to offer immersive and interactive learning environments to medical professionals, where long-term care providers, health pros and nurses can perform a task without risking patient safety. The technology allows healthcare organizations to manage a better training and development experience and focus on other core functions. 

• AR enables telehealth, the remote delivery of patient care using technology. The concept of telehealth is old, but COVID-19 made it a common practice due to social distancing. Healthcare providers have the opportunity to provide care to patients on a remote basis using AR technology, reducing the strain of managing high patient volumes. If patients are unable to describe their condition, AR devices assist patients in visualizing different health conditions and then comparing those with their own. 

• AR wearable devices also streamline administrative tasks by digitalizing instructions, reducing paperwork and minimizing human errors. Administrative tasks are time-consuming, laborious and prone to errors due to manual data handling. AR devices visualize data and allow care providers to automate scheduling systems, handle data digitally and access patient records quickly, which makes daily administration tasks faster with fewer errors.  

Realtime AR is a digital transformation consultant that believes in transforming work processes in different industries. We have multiple smart wearables that reduce human errors, increase worker safety, optimize the knowledge transfer process, and reduce operational costs. For more information and queries, visit our website or contact us.