Workforce report: Demand for nonclinical and frontline health-care roles remains high

A year after the launch of the federal and state health-care exchanges, current demand and future projections remain high for frontline and nonclinical health-care workers whose jobs have been expanded in number and scope. That’s according to a newly released workforce-trend report by the nonprofit College for America at Southern New Hampshire University.

The eight-page report, entitled “Nonclinical & Frontline Healthcare Roles Continue to Rise: Six growing roles and the 55 skills they have in common,” is available for download at: collegeforamerica.org/healthcare-workforce-report. 

Baby-boomer retirements, new technologies, and implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) are redefining the nature of the patient-care team, College for America said in a news release. The report reviews how the shift to team-based patient care and an increased focus on the patient experience demands more complex skill sets of nonclinical and frontline workers. It also identifies six of these fast-growing positions — along with their average education levels and salaries — and highlights the two positions that are most influenced by the effects of ACA.

Through an analysis of labor market data, real-time data, and interviews with health-care administrators nationwide, the report also identified 55 key detailed work activities that are common across these high-growth roles and often easily transferable between job titles, the news release stated.

The report is the product of the workforce strategy team at College for America, which says it is dedicated to better connecting higher education, workforce research, and labor market trends.