Navigating Challenges: A New Conceptual Model for Human Capital Management in Healthcare

Abstract

In the 21st century, the healthcare sector faces formidable challenges, including the rapid proliferation of medical technology innovations, the extension of life expectancy, and the concurrent trend of ageing within society. Moreover, healthcare grapples with an acute shortage of workforce, accompanied by significant skills gaps and mismatches. The consequences of skills shortages, gaps, and mismatches are profound, potentially impeding the treatment process and compromising healthcare outcomes, thereby jeopardizing both the quality of healthcare and the safety of patients and healthcare professionals alike. These signals underscore the imperative for transformative adjustments within the healthcare sector. Amidst this dynamic landscape, healthcare institutions must cultivate systems and approaches capable of rapid adaptation to evolving circumstances while facilitating future planning and data-driven decision-making. Of paramount importance is the establishment of systems that ensure effective knowledge management for healthcare professionals, identify knowledge and skills gaps, and highlight improvement opportunities. In light of these exigencies, the authors have crafted a conceptual model of human capital management based on skills monitoring and tailored to the healthcare sector. This model encapsulates a human-centric management ethos, seamlessly integrated with a data-driven business strategy within a patient-centric healthcare paradigm. The practical implementation of the Human Capital Management Model would empower healthcare institutions to make informed, data-driven decisions to reach the strategic goals of the institution: ensuring efficient human resource provision with appropriate skill-mix, improving health quality, increasing patient and healthcare professional safety, and the sustainable use of financial resources.