Abstract
Increases in critical care utilization related to aging of our population, static
supplies of critical care specialists, and reduced availability of physicians in training
to staff intensive care units (ICUs) have led many institutions to reevaluate their
ICU prescribing provider staffing plans. The epidemiology of critical care staffing
needs, regulations, requirements, standards, and professional society staffing recommendations
are reviewed and the components of a prescribing provider staffing plan are described
along with their costs. Factors that impact staffing costs including the availability
of intensivist extenders, electronic support, and telemedicine tools that impact the
efficiency of care delivery are evaluated in the context of staffing plan evaluation.
Financial modeling is used to compare the costs of common prescribing provider staffing
plans for typical referral medical center ICUs, community hospital ICUs, and rural
health centers that care for the critically ill.
Keywords
intensivist - critical care - management - workforce - staffing - resource