Hospitals across the country are facing an urgent challenge — increasing patient volume and decreasing bed availability. A new UCLA study predicts that 85 percent of all adult hospital beds will be occupied by 2032, driven by an aging population and increasing acuity of patients requiring hospitalization.
With fewer staffed beds, sicker patients, and longer lengths of stay, hospitals must find innovative ways to optimize patient care, streamline inpatient management, and ensure access to specialists when and where they’re needed most.
The Staffing and Capacity Dilemma
The post-pandemic healthcare landscape has shifted dramatically. According to the UCLA study:
- Hospital occupancy rates have risen from 64 percent (pre-pandemic) to over 75 percent today.
- Staffed hospital beds have declined by 16 percent, limiting hospitals’ ability to care for patients.
- The number of hospitalizations is projected to increase from 36 million in 2025 to 40 million by 2035.
These trends create a growing strain on hospitals that need to care for acutely ill patients, particularly in areas where specialists are in short supply.
Optimizing Hospital Capacity with Telemedicine
To address reduced inpatient bed capacity and physician shortages, a dual focus on maximizing efficiency and expanding access to high-acuity specialists is needed.
This is where Access TeleCare’s telemedicine solutions make a critical difference.
✔ Reduce Length of Stay (LOS): Faster access to teleSpecialists, whether neurologists, hospitalists, cardiologists, or any other specialty, ensures timely diagnosis and treatment, reducing unnecessary inpatient days.
✔ Improve Patient Throughput: By providing on-demand specialty care, Access TeleCare helps hospitals manage complex patient care in-house, reducing delays in consults, and transfers.
✔ Expand Specialist Availability Without Locums: Our dedicated telemedicine teams integrate seamlessly with hospital staff, ensuring consistent, high-quality specialty coverage without the costs and disruptions of locum tenens staffing.
✔ Support Inpatient Teams & Prevent Burnout: With staffing shortages already impacting hospital operations, virtual specialists alleviate workload burdens, improving provider satisfaction and sustaining high-quality patient care.
A Sustainable Solution for Hospitals
Hospitals cannot afford to wait for staffing and capacity challenges to worsen. Access TeleCare provides a scalable, long-term solution that optimizes hospital resources, improves patient outcomes, and ensures that hospitals can continue delivering high-quality care despite industry-wide challenges.
