Planning for Future Frontline Workforce Needs: What Lies Ahead

Healthcare providers everywhere are stretched to the limit, including many medical assistants, billing and coding specialists, pharmacy technicians, administrative staff, and health and human services professionals who fill needed support positions.

These personnel play a role in impacting both operational efficiency and patient satisfaction. Often the first point of contact for patients, they help coordinate care behind the scenes, bridging gaps between departments, systems, and sometimes even communities. As care models continue to evolve toward value-based, tech-enabled, team-oriented approaches, these staff members may be expected to take on even more responsibilities.

The importance of looking ahead

With about 1.9 million healthcare job openings projected each year from 2024 through 2034¹ forward-looking employers must understand how these essential support roles are changing and the skills that will be essential in the coming years. Several key trends already impact the way allied health workflows will look in the future:

• An aging population will drive greater demand for chronic disease management, long-term care, and home health services. ²
• Emerging technologies such as AI, EHRs, and remote monitoring will likely require healthcare team members, even those in frontline roles, to gain new technical skills to work effectively in hybrid and virtual environments.
• Healthcare workforce shortages, burnout, and early retirements, especially among nurses and primary care providers, may further shrink the available talent pool.³
• Policy changes, including staffing mandates and scope of practice updates, could reshape job functions almost overnight.

These and other factors make predictive workforce planning both more important and more complex than ever.

What Healthcare Leaders Can Do to Prepare

With all these staffing pressures, how can provider organizations address their ongoing talent needs and develop an effective healthcare staffing strategy? Many leading organizations are already taking significant steps to prepare for the future. Cleveland Clinic, for example, employs a strategic workforce planning framework that forecasts capacity (number of staff needed) and capability (future skills requirements) up to five years ahead.⁴

With the urgent need to identify future needs, the goal is not only to fill positions, but also to build a workforce that’s adaptable, resilient, and ready for what’s next.

“The health systems that will successfully meet future workforce challenges are those that are proactive in identifying labor risks — and in taking action to mitigate them.”

A recent report by Mercer⁵ offered a comprehensive review of data to estimate future labor shortages or surpluses in healthcare, with recommendations that health systems take the following steps:

• Project future demand vs. supply for key roles and develop action plans when gaps appear.
• Rethink recruitment strategies by expanding search boundaries to meet talent where it is and investing in internal training and credentialing programs.
• Keep the talent you have with competitive pay and benefits, flexible schedules, and career development opportunities.

Embrace Task Shifting and Redefined Roles

The U.S. is on track to be short 100,000 healthcare workers by 2028.⁶ That means many healthcare organizations will need to reassign responsibilities across roles.

Shifting tasks may help:

• Extend the reach of overburdened physicians and nurses.
• Elevate care quality by assigning the right tasks to the right team members.
• Free up time for advanced providers to focus on high-acuity patients.

Growing Demand for Entry-Level Healthcare Roles

Several support roles already see dramatic demand increases. For example:

Medical Assistants

Medical assistants help bridge the gap between patients and providers, handling both clinical and administrative duties. They're important in team-based care environments — and they’re growing fast.

Health and Human Services Workers

As social determinants of health take center stage, roles that connect patients to community resources and support services are more essential than ever.

Health Information Professionals

The expansion of electronic health records and data-driven care is increasing demand for professionals who can manage, protect, and analyze complex healthcare data.

Why Partnering With a Career Training Organization Makes Sense

Preparing for the future doesn’t have to mean starting from scratch. By partnering with a healthcare career school like Ultimate Medical Academy, you gain access to a pipeline of skilled, entry-level professionals trained in both technical and soft skills. In addition to our medical assistant training program, UMA offers the following programs:

• Clinical Medical Assistant
• Health Sciences - Pharmacy Technician
• Health and Human Services
• Medical Billing and Coding
• Healthcare Management

Whether you're hiring new roles or upskilling current employees, UMA programs can help you build a workforce that’s more agile, more resilient, and more aligned with the future of care.

Ready to Start Building Your Future Workforce?

Let’s shape the healthcare workforce of tomorrow — today.

Contact Ultimate Medical Academy to learn how our programs can help you meet future demands, close skills gaps, and create more meaningful career pathways for your team.