Healthcare staffing shortages in 2026: new year, same old problem. Some pundits previously expressed doubt about the projected lack of physicians, nurses and other clinical staff, but numbers paint a grim picture.
Just last month, the National Center for Health Workforce Analysis (NCHWA) released workforce projections for physician specialties, the nursing workforce and behavioral and allied health professionals in the United States. NCHWA forecasts an overall shortage by 2038 of:
- 141,160 physicians
-
- 70,610 PCPs
- 39,060 family medicine doctors
- 20,660 general internal medicine physicians
- 9,320 pediatricians
- 1,570 geriatricians
- 7,270 cardiologists
- 7,660 OB/GYNs
- 10,660 anesthesiologists
- 2,800 nephrologists
- 108,960 registered nurses (RNs)
- 245,950 licensed practical nurses (LPNs)
- 99,780 mental health counselors
In 2025, the U.S. healthcare industry experienced a shortage of 84,930 physicians, 250,710 RNs, 81,330 LPNs and 14,600 mental health counselors. More than 65 percent of hospitals and healthcare systems report that they have run at less than full capacity at some time because of staffing shortages.
The staffing shortage doesn’t only affect the U.S., as the World Health Organization (WHO) projects a global shortfall of 10 million health workers by 2030, a costly problem in more ways than one. As McKinsey & Company notes, closing the healthcare worker shortage gap could eliminate seven percent of the global disease burden and add $1.1 trillion to the global economy.
The Impact of the Staffing Shortage on the Healthcare Industry
Why exactly is the U.S. facing a shortage of healthcare professionals? The insufficiency stems from a combination of burnout, an aging workforce, rising patient demand and insufficient new professionals entering the field.
Then there’s the high turnover rate among such medical professionals. Studies consistently show that healthcare worker turnover, especially among doctors, is a key factor leading to staff shortages.
Research also indicates that unmanageable workloads, inadequate compensation and poor working conditions are root causes of healthcare worker attrition. Approximately 20 percent of medical groups reported higher staff turnover in 2025 compared to 2024. The median turnover rate for physicians is 7.3 percent and 24 percent for nurses.
Healthcare provider leadership is certainly aware of the effect of staffing shortages on patient care. More than 81 percent of healthcare leaders acknowledge that delays in care are a substantial issue because of staff shortages, leading to longer waits for appointments and reduced access to screenings, diagnostics, preventive care and other essential services. Roughly 92 percent of healthcare leaders report the deterioration of staff well-being as a result of workforce shortages.
Primary Care Problems
More than 100 million people in the U.S. don’t have a primary care provider. Projected PCP shortages of primary care physicians further threaten access to essential healthcare services and lead to poorer health outcomes.
The National Institute for Health Care Management (NIHCM) Foundation notes that reduced access to primary care may drive patients to more expensive emergency care visits, elevating costs and impacting affordability.
Not Enough Nurses
In the U.S., there are an average of nine registered nurses for every 1,000 people. This shortage impacts patient care, as two out of three nurses report being assigned too many patients and 88 percent express concern about the detrimental effects on patient care.
Multiple scientific studies point to the connection between inadequate levels of RN staffing, with shortages leading to errors, higher morbidity and mortality rates and having the potential to result in lapses of continuity in treatment, a higher risk of over- or under-medicating patients and compromised data security. The nationwide nursing shortage exacerbates already high nurse-to-patient ratios, which have been associated with higher hospital readmission rates.
Don’t think that healthcare burnout only applies to doctors. Nursing staffing shortages have increased workloads and extended shifts, directly contributing to heightened stress and poorer mental health outcomes among nurses.
Medical Practice Pressure
The average medical group misses 42 percent of incoming calls during business hours, leading to frustrated patients and sometimes lost revenue. Even before widespread staffing shortages, hardworking practice staff found it difficult to answer so many calls, let alone give each patient calling the attention he or she deserved.
Three-quarters of physicians say that staff shortages and/or poor healthcare staff retention are negatively impacting their practice. When medical groups operate with inadequate staffing levels, the rest of their employees have to manage higher patient loads, increasing the risk of medical errors and compromising patient safety standards.
The biggest impact of the U.S. healthcare staffing shortage is compromised patient care. It results from lengthened delays, overcrowded emergency rooms and increased medical errors, all of which increase patient mortality rates.
AI: A Scalable Solution for the Healthcare Staffing Shortage
Physicians, nurses and other clinical staff along with allied healthcare professionals continue to be asked to do more with less, even at the expense of time with patients. Medical practices and hospitals must find ways to do more without sacrificing the quality of patient care or accelerating burnout.
Agentic artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a scalable and practical solution that augments existing healthcare workflows. Adoption is already widespread, with nearly 90 percent of healthcare workers utilizing artificial intelligence in some capacity and two in three physicians leveraging AI tools to support daily operations.
Reducing Administrative Burden to Free Up Clinical Time
A primary driver of staffing strain is the volume of bureaucratic and administrative work required to keep healthcare practices running. Time-consuming tasks, such as appointment scheduling, patient flow management, personalized and targeted patient communication and education, prior authorization, billing and record management, consume multiple hours of staff time weekly.
AI-driven automation streamlines these repetitive processes, reducing human error and improving operational efficiency. By minimizing paperwork and manual workflows, agentic AI allows clinicians and staff to spend more time on direct patient care, improving both productivity and job satisfaction.
Filling Staffing Gaps 24/7
Agentic AI plays a crucial role in maintaining access to care when staffing levels fall short. Such technology platforms provide 24/7 coverage with brief response times, ensuring patient inquiries are addressed immediately. By managing call volume, AI reduces pressure on front-desk and call center teams while maintaining consistent service quality.
Improving Consistency and Performance Across Patient Interactions
Although it’s essential to patient satisfaction and trust, consistency is difficult to maintain during staffing shortages. Agentic AI systems help healthcare providers maintain standardized performance by keeping average handle times within defined thresholds while improving first-call resolution rates. This ensures patients receive reliable, high-quality interactions regardless of call volume, time of day or staffing constraints.
Personalizing Patient Communication at Scale
AI enables healthcare providers to deliver personalized communication without adding to staff workload. By analyzing individual patient data, AI systems customize outreach based on patient preferences. This allows organizations to provide timely, relevant messaging across large and diverse patient populations while maintaining a personal level of communication, improving safety, outcomes and patient satisfaction.
Strengthening the Workforce Without Replacing It
AI tools are designed to support, not replace, healthcare professionals. By automating repetitive tasks and handling high-volume interactions, agentic AI minimizes pressure on administrative and allied health staff while increasing the amount of time clinicians can spend bedside. The 2024 Philips Future Health Index report showed that 92 percent of surveyed healthcare leaders think automation is crucial for addressing staff shortages by automating repetitive tasks and processes.
Providertech.ai: Putting AI to Work for Healthcare Providers
Providertech.ai is an agentic AI platform designed by healthcare professionals to streamline operations, enhance patient engagement and reduce costs for health systems. By automatically answering incoming calls around the clock using advanced agentic AI, our platform provides health systems with a scalable solution that maintains high-quality patient communication without adding additional staff. And, it supports existing agents to allow them to focus on more complex patient care communication needs
Schedule a demo today to learn how you can experience happy patients every single call, every single time!
