A general misconception about the healthcare industry is the idea that only medical personnel represent the entirety of healthcare professionals. This, however, isn’t the case with lots of other workers playing key roles in the well-being of patients.
From physical therapists to psychologists, nutritionists to even fitness coaches, many of these subsidiary healthcare professions play vital roles in improving the health of patients; but with the numbers of such professionals also quite low in relation to the burgeoning world population, there is a serious deficiency in the delivery of healthcare services to those who need them the most.
Tackling the problem of shortage of healthcare experts is indeed essential if the world is to avert the impending chaos that is certain to engulf the healthcare industry. While training more professionals sounds like the logical solution to this crisis, it may not be as practical as it sounds, since it will require that countries consistently spend billions of dollars to implement such a robust scheme and of course, maintain it.
It also doesn’t consider that there are just too many fields in the healthcare sector that no amount of budgeting and planning can simply make up for. Simply put, while this option may be able to plug the gap in some high-profile healthcare strata, it won’t completely eradicate the issues facing the industry.
The most practical solution to the shortage of professionals in the healthcare industry involves two widely used trade practices that have become quite common in the corporate world, freelancing and outsourcing.
Though outsourcing has become a norm in all areas of the corporate field, it is still trying to find its place in the healthcare industry, with only the pharmaceutical field so far integrating this practice into its operations.
With the cost of manufacturing drugs and health supplement being quite high, many pharmaceutical companies have turned to outsource the production of their generic brands to facilities located in much cheaper places especially in South East Asia.