The covid-19 pandemic has affected the healthcare industry in a number of ways. A report from Extreme Networks and the Healthcare Information and Management Systems (HIMSS) found that several of the major challenges impacting clinical productivity in healthcare, including staffing, budget shortages and cybersecurity threats, may be the result of insufficient funding.

Staffing shortages can lead to declining patient care, disruption in hospital operations and increased churn and burnout for healthcare workers. Clinical staffing shortages are most impactful for organizations between 2,500-14,999 employees, with 84% of respondents citing it as their most important issue. Additionally, 90% of organizations said they have increased their technology investment since the start of the pandemic, and 45% of respondents stated they have increased their budget significantly. 

Additional findings include: 

IT staffing shortages significantly impact clinical productivity

• 47% of respondents ranked IT staffing shortages in their top three challenges.
• When it comes to deploying modern healthcare software, 74% of respondents listed IT staffing shortages as a deployment barrier. The lack of qualified staff hinders the adoption of new technology, preventing organizations from utilizing new technologies that can improve patient care.
• 66% of respondents said routine IT tasks take longer to complete because they don't have enough people.
• 55% claimed resolution time on errors and issues has increased, negatively impacting staff productivity across the organization.
• More than 25% of healthcare professionals surveyed said they plan to invest in upgrading and expanding their network infrastructure to address the issues.

Cybersecurity, cloud infrastructure and software lead key investments

• 59% of respondents ranked cybersecurity challenges in their top three organizational challenges, and 54% ranked cybersecurity as their most important investment over the next 12 to 18 months.
• 36% ranked modern healthcare applications as their most important technology investment.
• 75% of technology decision-makers with buying power said they planned to update cloud infrastructure over the next 12 to 18 months.