Kronos® and the Australian Health Workforce Institute Launch Research into the Future of the Australian Nursing Workforce
SYDNEY, 9th July, 2008 — Kronos® Incorporated, a leading workforce management specialist, today announced a joint research project with the Australian Health Workforce Institute (AHWI) aimed at predicting the needs of the Australian nursing workforce of 2020. The companies expect to conclude the research by October.
Sharon Lowry RN, Manager, Asia Pacific Healthcare Division, Kronos, said "While there are shortages across all professional healthcare groups, this research will be focus on all grades of registered/enrolled nursing staff. Current estimations indicate Australia will face a nursing shortage of 40,000 by the year 2010."
Gaining dependable insight into the healthcare workforce has been difficult for several reasons such as the fragmented way in which healthcare professionals are regulated, the lack of connectedness between state-managed healthcare sectors, and the lack of common nomenclature for professional licensing and scope of practice.
Lowry added, "In the absence of a single source of accurate planning data, healthcare strategists must explore creative new ways of managing their work and predicting workforce requirements that parallel patient safety and optimisation imperatives. We hope the findings of this research will offer a new tool to assist them in looking for sustainable solutions."
Professor Peter Brooks, Interim Director, AHWI, said, "The Institute is pleased to be partnering with an organisation such as Kronos who shares our vision of a sustainable health workforce in Australia."
"This research is a good step in a long journey. The configuration and characteristics of the future health workforce are determined by a complex interaction of the healthcare operating environment, economic factors, technology, regulatory and legislative actions, epidemiological factors, the healthcare education system and demographics. We are not proposing that this research will deliver the 'silver bullet' to solve the entire healthcare planning problem; however, it aims to identify the areas that need further reform," Professor Brooks added.
"Our goal in partnering with one of Australia's leading health workforce research bodies is to create a robust, predictive modeling technique that will assist health workforce planners at all levels to achieve long-term workforce sustainability," concluded Lowry.
Notes to Editors
One of the driving factors behind the research is the growing number of global studies that have estimated the cost of adverse and sentinel events in terms of morbidity, mortality, and total healthcare spend. While the estimated rate of adverse events in Australia stands at 16.6%1, this figure is expected to rise as confidence in the 'reporting culture' improves resulting in more complete and accurate capture of preventable incidents2. The issues of poor staffing levels and skill mix, and their relationship with suboptimal outcomes for both healthcare professionals and patients is overwhelmingly supported in the literature creating the demand for a more reliable approach to managing and predicting requirements for a sustainable workforce today, tomorrow, and into the future.
About Kronos Incorporated
Kronos Incorporated empowers organisations to effectively manage their workforce. At Kronos, we are experts who are solely focused on delivering software and services that enable organisations to reduce costs, increase productivity, improve employee satisfaction, and ultimately enhance the level of service they provide. Kronos serves customers in more than 60 countries through its network of offices, subsidiaries, and distributors. Widely recognised as a market and thought leader in managing the workforce, Kronos has unrivalled reach with more than 30 million people using a Kronos solution every day. Learn more about Kronos at www.kronos.com.au.
About AHWI
The Australian Health Workforce Institute (AHWI) was established in December 2007 to address and find innovative solutions to the serious shortage of health workers both in Australia and worldwide. Working closely with Commonwealth and State jurisdictions, AHWI is conducting research and developing policy that will help deliver Australia health workforce sustainability by 2020. AHWI is a joint venture between the University of Melbourne and the University of Queensland. Although the Institute's head office is located at the University of Melbourne, it draws expertise from a wide range of local and international sources.
1Lianne, J. & Law, M et al (2005); Patient Safety Research in Australia, United Kingdom, United States, and Canada; A summary of Research Priority Areas, Agenda-Setting Processes and Directions for future research in the context of their patient safety initiatives.
2Sentinel Events in Australian Public Hospitals 2004 - 2005.
