Healthcare IT Hiring Trends:Flexible Staffing as Tech Needs Evolve

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Hiring trends show an increase in the percentage of information technology positions that are being filled on a temporary or contract basis. Flexible staffing models especially fit healthcare IT needs as the healthcare industry continues expanding its use of technology and data.

Increase in Contract Positions Predicted

A recent survey of more than 200 business professionals found that in 2015, nearly 35 percent of the total workforce was made up of non-employee workers, which include temporary workers, freelancers, and contractors. This study predicts an increase in the percentage of the workforce that does not comprise traditional full-time employees.

shutterstock_368536076Continued Growth in Healthcare IT Jobs

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the rate of growth for information security analysts is expected to be 36.5 percent through 2022. The high demand for these IT jobs results primarily from increased demand for cybersecurity, implementation of electronic medical records and increased use of mobile technology.

Outsourcing versus Onboarding

Though companies continue opening permanent positions, many healthcare agencies increasingly are expanding their use of consulting services and contract positions. Flex staffing allows companies to engage short-term hires for highly specific projects, such as transitioning to electronic health records, setting up proper Electronic Data Interchange channels and identifying security risks. With flex staffing and consulting services, companies can benefit from a limited pool of industry expertise and quickly ramp up projects since no time is spent on typical employee onboarding processes.

As technology evolves and as companies incorporate more technology tools into everyday medicine, flex staffing helps attract experienced talent as appropriate to match the agency’s stage of technological development. For example, the IT needs of an organization at the implementation stage of electronic health records differ from those in the ongoing maintenance stage, which focuses more on medical informatics and extracting, analyzing and sharing analytics. Contract hiring finds workers who specialize in such data analysis.

Utilization of temp staffing also helps companies figure out appropriate levels of healthcare IT infrastructure. As organizations incorporate more technology tools like telehealth, and as more practices mature in their use of electronic health records, their IT staffing skill sets shift.

Ever evolving healthcare technology promises a continued expansion to healthcare IT hiring. To adapt to future IT needs, more companies likely will continue to employ contract and temporary hiring at increasing rates.

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