It’s been a year of immeasurable challenges for healthcare professionals across the state, country, and world. In addition to dealing with the incredibly taxing toll of the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare management is learning how to juggle multi-generational workplaces – accommodating the needs of five generations simultaneously can understandably stretch leadership’s capacities to their limit. Gen Z has yet to be assigned a definitive age range but it mostly refers to people born between the mid-1990s and the mid-2000s, so the generation’s oldest members are now in the workforce. The people in Gen Z are often referred to as “digital natives” because they barely remember a world without Google, and they have vastly different needs than Baby Boomers and even Millennials. This article is intended to act as a structural guideline for your team as you navigate hiring Gen Z employees, so you can avoid common pitfalls and update policies accordingly, to attract top talent.

1. Embrace Tech

Changing social and economic factors are increasing our reliance on technology to complete work-related tasks more effectively and efficiently, so it’s no surprise that Generation Z’s relationship with technology will influence how the group relates to healthcare. Adopting the latest technological practices will inevitably make you more appealing to recruits who anticipate and expect cutting-edge, state-of-the-art technology in daily operations.

2. Communicate

When a recent NRC Health survey asked 970 Gen Z healthcare workers what keeps them engaged in their work, 50% of respondents said the fact that “communication among the people I work with is never a problem” is the primary driver of satisfaction with their job. Keeping lines of communication between management and employees clear is an effective way to boost job fulfillment and eliminate confusion up the chain of command.

3. Create Clear Pathways to Success

Gen Z is a very ambitious generation; with 32% of them believe they’ll be in a supervisory role within the first five years of their career. Healthcare organizations can fuel their motivation by providing a clear pathway to success, with attainable goals and criteria Gen Zers can follow to meet career milestones.

4. Create an Impactful Environment

On a daily basis, Gen Z healthcare workers want to feel that they’re making a difference: 71% reported that this makes them feel that they “love coming to work every day.” Regardless of the industry, passionate employees create positive environments, so this is a great trait to tap into. It’s not hard to feel like you are making a difference in a vital industry like healthcare where lives are at stake, but keep this personality trait in mind during one-on-one evaluations and opportunities to highlight individual contributions or achievements.

5. Prioritize Mental Health Care

While the pandemic has put an emotional strain on every generation, research shows Gen Zers are on the verge of the most severe mental health crisis for young people in decades. Only 45% of Generation Z reports good or excellent mental health, by far the lowest of any generation, according to the American Psychological Association. Coupled with the psychological impact clinicians are enduring while they navigate the COVID-19 pandemic, the mental health and wellbeing of Generation Z clinicians (and all employees) should be top of mind.

As we navigate blending different generations of healthcare professionals, developing a collaborative network of peers within your organization to update the onboarding process is crucial to ensuring the successful transition of clinicians into new professional roles. Together, the healthcare industry has a great opportunity to benefit from the strengths that each generation offers while welcoming new clinicians and colleagues into teams. At RBT, we understand the diverse and complicated world of healthcare, and we understand the first step to a brighter financial future is having important conversations about industry-specific topics that matter to you. Feel free to contact our team today, we hope to help your team succeed.

Sources: NRC Health, Abbott, Vizient, American Psychological Association

What do I need to know about the 340B Program?

The 340B Program enables covered entities to stretch scarce federal resources as far as possible, reaching more eligible patients and providing more comprehensive services. Manufacturers participating in Medicaid agree to provide outpatient drugs to covered entities at significantly reduced prices. The program allows 340B hospitals to stretch limited federal resources to reduce the price of outpatient pharmaceuticals for patients and expand health services to the patients and communities they serve. Hospitals use 340B savings to provide free care for uninsured patients, offer free vaccines, provide services in mental health clinics, and implement medication management and community health programs. According to the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), which is responsible for administering the 340B program, enrolled hospitals and other covered entities can achieve average savings of 25 to 50% in pharmaceutical purchases. Tax-exempt hospitals are required to publicly report on the ways in which they improve the health of the communities they serve yearly through the IRS Form 990 Schedule H, which is publicly available. In 2017, the most recent year for which this information is available, tax-exempt hospitals participating in the 340B drug savings program provided $64.3B in total benefits to their communities.

Is my healthcare organization eligible?

Eligible health care organizations/covered entities include HRSA-supported health centers and look-alikes, Ryan White clinics and State AIDS Drug Assistance programs, Medicare/Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospitals, children’s hospitals, and other safety net providers. See the full list of eligible organizations/covered entities. To participate in the 340B Program, eligible organizations/covered entities must register and be enrolled with the 340B program and comply with all program requirements. Once enrolled, covered entities are assigned a 340B identification number that vendors verify before allowing an organization to purchase 340B discounted drugs.

What if my organization’s eligibility changed over the past year?

Covered entities must recertify their eligibility every year and notify the Office of Pharmacy Affairs whenever there is a change in their eligibility. If there is a change in a covered entity’s eligibility status, the covered entity has a responsibility to immediately notify OPA and should stop purchasing drugs through the 340B Program. Learn more about the process here: Recertification.

How does COVID-19 impact my organization’s eligibility?

Many 340B stakeholders are concerned about the evolving impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The circumstances surrounding this public health emergency may warrant additional flexibilities, especially to affected 340B covered entities. To the extent a 340B stakeholder has a specific circumstance where they believe their COVID-19 response may affect their compliance or eligibility in the 340B Program, the stakeholder should contact the 340B Prime Vendor at 1-888-340-2787 (Monday – Friday, 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. ET) or email apexusanswers@340bpvp.com. Additionally, plan on contacting this resource if your organization is currently seeing a surge in patients and need to expand services to another site, to learn if any special exemptions be made for covered entities or any changes will be made to the registration process. The 340B Prime Vendor will coordinate with HRSA technical assistance and evaluate each issue on a case-by-case basis.

Source: HRSA, AHA