Physician (and nurse) burnout is a real problem and getting worse. In a previous blog post, I noted the clear link between dealing with an antiquated technology, particularly the EMR, and physician disatisfaction. The most recent survey of American physicians found 81% felt overextended or at full capacity and that nonclinical "paperwork" consumed 20% of their time. The added burden of reporting on a myriad of often unstandardized quality metrics to various payors was recently found to cost physician practices more than $15 billion dollars annually with the typical physician devoting 785 hours per year to this effort. It's no surprise that the physician survey found only 10% of responding physicians were optimistic about the future of the medical profession. Faced with adapting to a rapidly changing "ecosystem" with perceived competition from retail clinics and the internet, only 56% of physicians reponding plan to continue their current practice. At a time when demand for healthcare services is increasing, more than 40% plan to retire, cut back on hours, or work in a nonclinical area. Caregivers are tired of hearing "do more with less." Increased productivity and efficiency shouldn't mean decreased family or leisure time.
caregiver-friendly user interfaces easing documentation of clinically relevant information.
The evolving health care system is challenging for everyone involved. Caregivers confront pressures to increase efficiency while meeting increased requirements to document care and outcomes in an often unwieldy EMR. Patients make decisions about their health care in a much more diverse universe of options. Payors and employers hope to manage health care costs by exploring innovative but unproven nontraditional settings such a retail clinics and virtual visits. As a participant in the transition from paper to first generation EMR technology, I experienced first-hand the pain and a bit of the promise. Now, an increasingly complex healthcare ecosystem demands new generation 21st century technology.
As always, I welcome your thoughts. Let's continue the discussion.