MGMA Week in Review: Workplace Safety, Staffing Challenges, and the No Surprises Act
Download MP3Well, hi, everyone. I'm Daniel Williams, senior editor here at MGMA, host of the MGMA Podcast Network. I am here with cohost Colleen Luckett, editor and writer at MGMA. We are back for another MGMA week in review podcast, and there is a lot going on in health care this week. So I'm not even gonna mess around about it, Colleen.
Daniel Williams:I'm gonna turn it over to you. You can share anything you want, but my gosh, there's a lot going on.
Colleen Luckett:Yeah. It was really hard to choose. There is so much going on. But let's start out with a medical economics article. So ever feel like your job is stressful?
Colleen Luckett:Imagine trying to save lives while dodging workplace violence. Unfortunately, that is the reality for many health care workers today, and it's taking a serious toll on staff morale, retention, and, most importantly, patient care. So, yeah, this medical economics article was published on March 5, and it's titled workplace violence, practice safety, and patient care. It was with Andrea Greco, SVP of health care safety at Centagix. And it highlighted just per how pervasive this issue is.
Colleen Luckett:So in this q and a with Andrea Greco, she emphasizes that over eighty percent of nurses have experienced workplace violence in the past year. This kind of stress doesn't just impact the nurses themselves. It also directly affects patient safety and satisfaction, of course. So what can health care leaders do? Greco underscores the importance of proactive safety measures, including staff training, situational awareness, and layered security protocols.
Colleen Luckett:She stresses that listening to employees and taking real action, not just checking a box, makes a huge difference in retention and workplace culture. One striking takeaway was that more than 80% of incidents go unreported. So Greco encourages health care organizations to create a zero tolerance policy and make it easy for staff to report safety concerns without fear of retaliation. From clear signage to visitor management protocols, small steps can lead to big improvements in workplace safety. So if you're looking to improve staff morale, boost retention, and ensure better practice care, this article is really a must read.
Colleen Luckett:As always, we will drop the link to the article in the show notes, so check it out for more information. Okay, Daniel. Over to you.
Daniel Williams:Alright. Thanks for that, Colleen. And our next article today is titled the shifting landscape in medical practice staffing. This was published by Physicians Practice, and it is based on the 2025 staffing and salary survey, which reveals the ongoing struggle practices have to maintain adequate staffing levels. This survey sheds light on the difficulties in recruiting and retaining qualified personnel, and it's a challenge that has been exacerbated in recent years.
Daniel Williams:So I wanna share some of the main findings from that. The most glaring statistic from the survey is that 41% of respondents consider themselves understaffed today, and that's up significantly from 27% who reported understaffing five years ago. Paradoxically, 44% of respondents say that they have hired more staff in the past five years, indicating that even a hiring push can fail to keep pace with patient demand, administrative complexity, and due to retention in that revolving door of staffing. In looking ahead, the majority or 60% expect their staffing levels to remain the same in 2025. Let's think about what the biggest problem is, and that is finding qualified people.
Daniel Williams:When asked about the biggest staffing challenges out there, an overwhelming 76% of respondents cited finding qualified staff. All although the labor market's tightness is less acute than in previous years, a significant shortage of skilled professionals continues, particularly in positions requiring specialized clinical or administrative knowledge. Other top concerns include increased workload and dual roles, 37%, high staff turnover, 20%, and lack of professionalism, 22% cited that. These issues echo many of the soft skill concerns we hear anecdotally from practice managers. For instance, how to balance the need for reliable, congenial team players with the reality that some roles like billers and coders or medical assistants are in especially high demand.
Daniel Williams:So let's talk about words of wisdom from the field. One unique facet this year's survey included was the open ended advice that administrators and physician shared. Their suggestions revolve around several common themes. Here's what they had to say in their own words. Invest in people, train train new employees, and treat your staff well financially, and they will be loyal.
Daniel Williams:Next quote, don't delay in getting rid of poor performers. And if someone is not a good fit or brings negativity, don't wait to remove them. Next practice leader said, lead by example, not intimidation, and build that team and continue perfecting it every day. And our final quote from those surveyed, start getting ready for AI. Control overhead by limiting staffing to adequate numbers, and we can't cover our costs by just seeing patients.
Daniel Williams:Let's look ahead. As we head deeper into twenty twenty five, the tension between adequate staffing, compensation, and practice profitability remains at the forefront. With a majority of practices still relying on traditional fee for service reimbursement and only 21% blending it with value based care, controlling overhead is challenging. Some practitioners see concierge or direct pay models as key to solving the financial puzzle, but these are far from universal solutions. So with that said, Colleen, I don't know really what else we can address from this particular survey, but I do wanna thank Chris Mazzaloni for writing this article and bringing this to light.
Daniel Williams:Chris is a content vice president at MJH Life Sciences. Colleen, what do you have up next?
Colleen Luckett:Alright. Ever get a surprise medical bill in the mail and wonder how the heck it's legal? I do all the time. It's not. At least it wasn't supposed to be, but now the very office that helped enforce the no surprises act just got gutted, throwing the system into chaos.
Colleen Luckett:According to a fierce health care article published on March 5 as well, it's titled Trump vowed to end surprise medical bills. The office working on that just got slashed. The Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight or CCIIO has been hit with major layoffs, cutting 15% of its workforce, the same people responsible for protecting patients from unexpected medical bills. The No Surprises Act signed into law in 2020 was supposed to protect patients from out of network billing nightmares, making sure they didn't get stuck paying thousands for services at in network hospitals, but the process to resolve billing disputes has been overwhelmed. In 2023 alone, more than 650,000 disputes were filed.
Colleen Luckett:The c c the CCIIO was working on streamlining that system, but those efforts have now been derailed by the layoffs. Former CCIIO deputy director, Jeff Grant, called the cuts a, quote, hot mess, warning that patients, hospitals, and insurers alike will feel the impact. The consumer complaint system is already drowning in cases, and without enough staff, disputes will take longer to resolve, if they get resolved at all. Meanwhile, health insurers are concerned these cuts will drive up costs for patients and employers. Experts say reforms to improve dispute resolution were this close to being finalized, but with the office in disarray, those fixes may never come.
Colleen Luckett:And here's the real kicker, even deeper cuts could be coming by March 13. If you thought medical billing was frustrating before, just wait. Yeah. Alright. Lots of chaos.
Colleen Luckett:Back to you, Daniel.
Daniel Williams:Alright. So one of the biggest news items in health care this week was the HIMSS twenty twenty five Global Health Conference and Exhibition. It was held this week from March 3 to March 6 in Las Vegas, so maybe some of y'all were there. And it did feature a variety of sessions aimed at addressing current challenges and innovations in health care technology. It pretty much it's just about the biggest conference in health care.
Daniel Williams:It's certainly among them. Our colleague, Chris Harrop, has been there this week, and he's given us a couple of reports along the way. We've been in a couple of virtual meetings with Chris, and he's been sharing some really interesting things from there. Something else that came out from HIMSS this week was the 2024 HIMSS Healthcare Cybersecurity Survey. The information I've got here, it appeared in a publication called TechTarget.
Daniel Williams:It appeared on March 5 and was written by Jill McKeehan, and it really does have some interesting insights about that particular topic. First off, about 55% of cybersecurity professionals expect budget increases. The report makes it clear. Bigger budgets mean better cybersecurity. We can at least hope that.
Daniel Williams:More money means access to stronger tools, experienced staff, and better overall protection. On the flip side, Hospitals and clinics with tight budgets struggle to keep up with growing cyber threats, and that's a real risk for patient care and data security. Where is the extra money going? More than half of respondents say it'll improve cybersecurity tools. Nearly half expect better policies, and about a third think it'll help with hiring more staff.
Daniel Williams:That's important because cybersecurity is only as strong as the people running it. There's also an interesting trend. Over 50% of health care IT departments saw overall budget increases from 2024 to 2025. That's good news, but there is a problem. More cybersecurity professionals don't actually know what their budget is.
Daniel Williams:Back in 2020, '18 percent of respondents had no idea how much their organization was spending on cybersecurity. In 2024, that number jumped to 23%. Even though spending is increasing, there's a disconnect between leadership and the people managing cybersecurity on the ground. Bottom line, health care organizations are putting more money into cybersecurity, but there's still a long way to go. The report warns that without proper funding, hospitals and clinics could face serious disruptions to patient care, loss of trust, and big financial hits.
Daniel Williams:It's one thing to have more money available. It is entirely another thing to make sure it's spent where it's actually needed. Boy, I'll say, Colleen, I will turn this back to you.
Colleen Luckett:That is not uplifting at all. Makes me really nervous, actually, with all the cybersecurity attacks. Money is there, and they're not using it.
Daniel Williams:Yep. Yep. That
Colleen Luckett:was a great share, Daniel. That's good to know. Alright. Let's wrap up this article with this week's MGMA stat poll in which we looked at leadership development in medical practices, who's getting it, and how organizations are making it happen. We asked medical group leaders which roles in their organizations have leadership development goals, and the results show that most leadership training is focused on managers and above with nearly 70% of respondents saying their efforts centered on supervisors, department heads, or executives.
Colleen Luckett:But about a third of organizations extend leadership development to nonmanagers as well. So what does this training actually look like? For managers and executives, organizations reported using a mix of professional development opportunities such as conferences, in house courses, mentorship programs, and tuition reimbursement. Many organizations have structured leadership academies or training initiatives designed to help managers grow into more senior roles. For non managers, some organizations take a broader approach by offering mentorship, structured training programs, and career ladder opportunities.
Colleen Luckett:These efforts help identify and develop future leaders early in their careers. However, not every organization has the resources to provide leadership development at all levels. Some reported that staffing shortages and time constraints limit their ability to expand these programs beyond higher level roles. And why does this matter? Studies show that leadership isn't just about titles.
Colleen Luckett:It's about fostering a culture where all team members are equipped to solve problems and adapt to challenges. Leadership development at all levels can improve engagement, strengthen collaboration, and boost retention. By empowering staff, whether they're frontline employees or seasoned managers, organizations can create a stronger, more agile team that's prepared for the evolving demands of health care. Developing leadership skills shouldn't be confined to formal training programs or just executives. Encouraging peer to peer coaching, mentorship, and open communication can help teams function more cohesively and build a workplace where employees feel valued and invested in the organization's success.
Colleen Luckett:For more insights, be sure to check out the full article, which, of course, we've included in the show notes. And, hey, would you like to share your insights on medical leadership and industry trends? Then go ahead and sign up for MGMA stat by texting stat to 33550, or visit ngma.com/mgma-stat to participate in our weekly polls. And that does it for me today, Daniel. Back to you.
Daniel Williams:Oh, alright. So it came to my attention that not only was there hymns in Las Vegas this week, but because I'm always looking forward, not looking back, but looking forward.
Colleen Luckett:Nice.
Daniel Williams:There was another conference in Vegas this week, MGMA's operations conference. And
Colleen Luckett:Right on.
Daniel Williams:Exactly. And so the interesting thing there is that we did conduct, I believe, at last count, four interviews with, either keynote speakers or breakout session speakers, and I'm gonna put direct links to all of those interviews. And we had accompanying articles on MGMA.com. So some really good takeaways, some tools, and tips that were provided there. I have talked to a couple of the people who were at our show, and they had a great time there.
Daniel Williams:It may have been Vegas, may have been the show, may have been a combination, but I definitely wanna make sure that that was that was on y'all's radar. The reason that I it totally slipped my mind earlier was because I'm already interviewing people for our financial conference, which is coming up April 13 through the fifteenth, and we'll be in our nation's capital, Washington, DC. So I'm already have financial conference on Brian. So you're gonna hear a lot from that coming podcast network as well coming up. So until then, just wanna thank all of y'all for being MGMA podcast listeners.
Colleen Luckett:Thanks, everyone. See you next time.
