Over the past few decades, the healthcare industry has made fantastic strides in patient care. These changes can be seen in the average life expectancy of people in the United States. In 1975, the average life expectancy of a person was 72.60 years. Today that age has increased to 76.4 years. That is an additional four years that a person gets to live their best life. A large part of this change was a focus on health maintenance and better care when people are ill or hospitalized. The concept of Allied Healthcare plays a very important role in this success.
Whether you are currently working in the healthcare industry or have been a patient at one point in your life, you likely realize there are many people involved in the care. We no longer witness a small doctor’s office with only a doctor and a nurse. There are many different specialized roles and each performs a unique job. Someone draws your blood, does your x-ray, and educates you on new medications. This specialization allows providers to focus on the main plan while others execute it. All of the positions that support the direct clinical care of a patient are considered Allied Healthcare. Let’s discuss why this has become so critical to healthcare facilities and why the demand is currently so high.
Many Hands Make Light Work
This heading is a statement that is an old phrase that very much holds true in most of today’s work situations. In the old-school setup of the healthcare system, doctors and nurses were responsible for all aspects of care. People also did not go to a doctor unless they were really ill. Today, with so much focus being placed on prevention, the system is much busier. It would be impossible for one or two people to take care of an entire patient load, not to mention maintaining everyone’s computer system! This sharing of the workload allows for more patients to be cared for daily. It also allows for an improved patient care experience, even if it sometimes doesn’t feel like it as a patient.
Everyone Has a Specialty
You may not have grown up thinking “I want to be a sonographer,” but you may have thought I want a stable and rewarding job. This may have landed you in healthcare or may have you check it out now. Once you begin to explore the industry a bit, you quickly understand just how many specialty avenues there are to consider. Every single function that happens in a hospital or healthcare system involves an actual person completing that task, outside of the actual equipment of course. A good example of this is the processing of blood work. There are at least three different people involved in this function. The phlebotomist draws the patient’s blood, there is typically a courier that transports the blood to the actual laboratory station, and a laboratory technician spins the blood and processes it through the equipment. Once everything is completed, the computer system (run by yet another group of people) will send the results directly to the ordering provider for review. Once those results are reviewed, the provider will notify the patient directly or have another support person do this. As you can see in this one simple scenario, there are plenty of opportunities to find a niche in the Allied Healthcare space.
Allied Health Care and Why It’s in High Demand Right Now – Patients Are Demanding More
The practice of medicine is not the only thing advancing that is causing industry changes. Technology advances like patient portals and the internet have armed patients with more information about their care. While people really shouldn’t directly follow the medical advice of a random article found on the internet, it does give them a tool in which to actively participate in their care. They have access to their own personal records via their electronic chart online and can review this information. Hospital patients have access to a tablet by their bedside that gives them immediate results for either them or their families to review. These modern upgrades allow the patient to be an active participant in their care. This drives the demand for better care and more services increasing the need for Allied healthcare professionals.
Quality Over Quantity
In an ideal world, we would have enough doctors and staff to treat every patient with the highest quality possible. However, the United States is operating the healthcare system on a doctor and staffing shortage. Insurance companies, including Medicare, put forth requirements for quality of care that must be met. When a facility does not have enough staff, it becomes challenging to meet these requirements. Healthcare facilities are adjusting by focusing on hiring the right support staff to provide their patients with the best quality of care. This is a huge opportunity for those working in the Allied Healthcare field.
The healthcare industry continues to grow and provides fantastic career opportunities. As the science of medicine advances, so do the Allied Healthcare roles needed to support these advances. There will be a continued high demand for these roles over the next few decades. Partnering with an agency like Trek Healthcare Staffing will give you an expert on your side to find your specialty. Contact us to get started exploring these careers.
