Maryland health leaders discussed the importance of data collection and provided updates about ongoing workforce shortages at the 2024 Maryland State of Reform Health Policy Conference.
Nilesh Kalyanaraman, deputy secretary for public services at the Maryland Department of Health, said data collection is crucial to help stakeholders learn about where investments need to be made.
“I think one of our biggest challenges is we don’t really have a good beat on the size and scale of our workforce right now. We don’t have the data as to how many people are in each profession—actually working in the profession.”
— Kalyanaraman
Kalyanaraman said the department is in the process of developing a data clearing house to receive information on how many practicing employees are in each healthcare profession. This data would then show what investments are needed, where they are needed, and who will benefit the most from them.
Jon Kromm, executive director of the Maryland Health Services Cost Review Commission, said when investing in new models of care, leaders must question if there are enough workers for implementation. Focusing on how to attract more individuals to the field is another crucial area of importance, he said.
“I think we have some opportunities here in Maryland that are unique to us, but we need to do work more broadly on how (to) start aligning reimbursement in more creative, flexible ways.”
— Kromm