Staffing and workforce management affect institutions ranging from fledgling clinics to well-established hospitals. As a Journal of Multidisciplinary Healthcare review notes, “hospital manpower management (HRM) is vital for effective healthcare delivery. Unique challenges, such as managing diverse staff, ensuring clear communication, and optimizing resources, complicate HRM.” Rising operational costs and workforce shortages “necessitate strategic approaches to manpower management” with training, performance management, and employee engagement emerging as central to sustainability. Nurses, physicians, and specialized clinicians are in short supply worldwide, and the gap continues to widen as demand escalates due to aging populations.
Managed service providers (MSPs) specialize in managing contingent workforce needs through technology-driven platforms and expert services, tackling the multifaceted staffing challenges healthcare organizations face with precision and agility. They align closely with what scholars call the “core components of manpower management: recruitment and staffing, workforce planning, training and development, performance management, and compensation and benefits.”
Think of MSPs as the bridge between healthcare providers and the often cumbersome world of workforce logistics. They coordinate everything from recruitment and credentialing to scheduling and compliance oversight. In this way, MSPs embody the review’s conclusion that “effective manpower management is essential for the sustainability of healthcare systems” and provide the innovative, tech-enabled support hospitals need to maintain resilience in the face of workforce shortages.
The workforce is not a mere number or positions to fill, but relationships that must be woven together perfectly. The challenge begins with the knowledge that millions of Americans depend daily on healthcare teams, often running lean professionals stretched thin by an undeniable shortage.
HRSA projections paint this picture vividly. By 2036, the United States will face an estimated shortage of 139,940 full-time equivalent physicians, with adequacy dropping to just 87 percent of demand.
This number is not uniform across all specialties. While primary care providers as a broader category, which includes nurse practitioners and physician assistants, are projected to exceed demand at 104 percent adequacy, the adequacy for general internal medicine is forecasted at only 76 percent, family medicine at 78 percent, and geriatrics at 81 percent.
This shortage isn’t static; it flows with demographics, lifestyle diseases, and the unpredictable surges from pandemics or aging populations. Demand for registered nurses, for example, is expected to outpace supply by 2036, leading to 91 percent adequacy despite an overall 14 percent workforce growth. Licensed practical nurses face even greater strain, with HRSA projecting just 88 percent adequacy by 2036, down from 93 percent in 2026, leaving a gap of nearly 100,000 FTEs nationwide.
Direct care workers, who provide daily assistance to older adults and people with disabilities, illustrate the fastest-growing demand. Between 2000 and 2022, their workforce more than doubled from 2.4 to 5.1 million, and by 2032, these roles will make up nearly one in six jobs in the entire U.S. economy. Yet vacancy rates remain high, and estimates that account for current gaps project as many as 8.9 million openings in the decade ahead.
Beyond numbers, the issue turns deeply human—burnout, emotional and physical exhaustion driven by relentless workload, emotional strain, and shifting care environments. Burnout is a patient safety crisis. Healthcare workers battling burnout make more errors, take more sick days, or leave the profession altogether, creating a ripple effect that burdens those left behind and jeopardizes continuity of care. It turns what should be a team effort into a fragmented struggle, where exhaustion threatens the very foundation of healing.
MSPs are separated by their ability to foresee workforce needs through advanced analytics and real-time data integration. They transform what used to be reactive staffing and IT management into a predictive, proactive operation. By analyzing patient volume trends, regulatory changes, and emerging technologies, MSPs help healthcare leaders anticipate staffing shortages or skill gaps before these issues impact care delivery.
A BMC Health Services Research study notes, “a key element of system transformation is an educated and skilled workforce, with appropriate skill mix, that is utilized in an effective and efficient way.” This allows organizations to adjust their workforce dynamically, sourcing the right mix of talent while ensuring IT platforms support seamless integration of new staff into clinical workflows.
At a deeper level, MSPs connect technology and people through integrated platforms that optimize scheduling, communication, and education. They break down silos between IT and human resources by deploying workforce management systems, coupled with secure communication tools, that enhance collaboration among physicians, nurses, and support staff, even in remote or hybrid environments.
In this way, they respond directly to the review’s finding that “changing the way healthcare providers work together to deliver care may address potential health human resource shortages, healthcare provider misdistribution, and help achieve high quality, efficient, and cost-effective care.”
MSP enabled platforms make scheduling more flexible and responsive, reduce errors, and improve job satisfaction by respecting clinicians’ time and preferences. This approach echoes the review’s conclusion that governance mechanisms like shared governance and professional development initiatives were “associated with improved outcomes for the health workforce (e.g., decreased turnover, increased job satisfaction, increased empowerment).”
See also: HIPAA Compliant Email: The Definitive Guide (2025 Update)
An MSP is an external partner that helps healthcare organizations manage their workforce and technology needs. In healthcare, MSPs often oversee staffing processes, like recruiting, scheduling, credentialing, and compliance, through specialized platforms and services.
No. While staffing is their core function in healthcare, many MSPs also provide IT services, manage vendor contracts, optimize scheduling, and support workforce governance. Their role often bridges both human resources and technology needs.
A staffing agency usually focuses on placing candidates in open roles. An MSP, by contrast, manages the entire staffing process across multiple agencies and vendors. They act as a centralized partner to oversee recruitment, scheduling, compliance, and vendor relationships.
Traditional outsourcing often handles one specific task, like payroll processing. An MSP, on the other hand, manages entire functions on an ongoing basis, often using technology platforms to track and optimize performance.