What We’re Seeing

Across FQHCs, staffing shortages are being met with familiar responses:

• Compressed schedules
• Extended clinic hours
• Growing pressure on providers

These approaches increase effort—but quietly reduce sustainability.

The Pattern Behind the Problem

Most organizations are still optimizing for physical capacity:

• Exam rooms
• Clinic hours
• On-site presence

But the true constraint has shifted to human capacity:

• Provider energy
• Cognitive load
• Schedule predictability

When this constraint is ignored, access gains collapse under burnout and turnover.

Why Traditional Fixes Fail

• They assume more effort equals more capacity
• They treat healthcare as mechanical rather than human
• They deliver short-term volume at long-term cost

The result is a fragile system that cannot absorb demand shocks.

The Strategic Shift We See Working

High-performing organizations are redesigning how care is delivered:

• Hybrid care models blend in-person and virtual visits
• Telehealth stabilizes schedules and reduces friction
• Telebehavioral health supports provider and patient resilience
• Care models are redesigned—not layered with tools

Technology becomes a capacity protector, not a burden.

What Sustainable Access Looks Like

• Stable, predictable provider schedules
• Protected energy and focus
• Expanded patient access without additional hiring

This is how access scales without burning out teams.

The Question Leaders Must Answer

How much of our care model assumes providers must be physically present to be productive?

Why This Matters

Staffing shortages are not an effort problem. They are a design problem. And design problems can be solved.