Addressing physician burnout by leveraging the EHR
Nearly all (94%) of physicians say they’ve felt burned out at some point during their career, according to a recent survey published by Medical Economics. Of those, an overwhelming majority (73%) say they feel burned out right now. Too much paperwork and regulations, poor work-life balance, electronic health records (EHR), lack of autonomy, and patient needs are just a few reasons why. Sixty-six percent of physicians feel their burnout affects financial earnings and productivity.
Still, it can be hard to get help and put changes in place to mitigate physician burnout. There’s a lot of stigma and fear of judgment. Forty percent of physicians say they’ve avoided expressing feelings of burnout because they’re concerned about being judged negatively by their peers. Sixty-six percent say a stigma exists in medicine that those who are burned out or dealing with mental health issues are considered lesser physicians.
Tackling healthcare burnout
The good news is that healthcare organizations are tackling physician burnout in new and innovative ways. In 2019, the American Medical Association (AMA) began awarding hospitals that stepped up to address burnout. The award program, known as the Joy in Medicine™ Health System Recognition Program, was given to 28 healthcare organizations this year. Together, these organizations represent more than 80,000 physicians.
Health information technology—particularly EHRs—can also alleviate physician burnout. Here are six ways in which medical practices can leverage EHRs to address this ongoing challenge.
1. Get rid of unnecessary work.
For example, can you simplify and streamline the login process by leveraging single sign-on identification? Can you minimize clinical decision support and other types of alerts so physicians only see ones that bring maximum benefit? Can you reduce requirements to input excessive clinical data before ordering a test? What about reducing inbox notifications? For example, physicians should not receive notifications of canceled appointments or no-shows for appointments with specialists. They also shouldn’t see refill requests for medications that treat chronic conditions, nor should they see any untriaged patient portal messages.
2. Automate, outsource revenue cycle management (RCM).
Physicians don’t have time to be pulled into denials, appeals, and unpaid claims. Automating some of these workflows and working with a reputable outsource coding partner can mitigate risk, leverage business intelligence, and take the daunting task of RCM off your plate entirely.
3. Permit team documentation.
With proper training, both clinical and nonclinical documentation assistants can record the history and exam as directed by the physician. They can also fill in the details of the after-visit summary, place orders, and reinforce next steps of care. All of this helps physicians focus less on inputting information into the EHR and more on direct interactions with patients. This, in turn, enhances the patient experience and promotes patient empowerment at your medical practice.
4. Optimize personal proficiency with the EHR.
Mastering the EHR inherently helps physicians become more confident and efficient. To do this, consider appointing an EHR champion within the practice whose responsibility it is to bring everyone up to speed and serve as a resource for those who have questions and concerns. Other important steps? Participate in all EHR vendor training, build a solid working relationship with your EHR vendor, create tip sheets, and network with other practices that use the same technology.
5. Monitor metrics.
For example, consider monitoring total EHR time, total time on the EHR (during and outside clinic hours) per eight hours of patient-scheduled time, work outside of work (total time on EHR outside clinic hours) per eight hours of patient-scheduled time, click counts (clicks per task or clicks per day), time on encounter note documentation per eight hours of patient-scheduled time, and hours spent on inbox tasks per eight hours of patient-scheduled time. Each of these metrics provides a glimpse into just how much the EHR may or may not be contributing to physician burnout.
6. Share clinical notes with patients.
Not only is sharing clinical notes with patients a federal mandate; it also has many benefits that can reduce physician burnout. For example, sharing clinical notes can enhance patient engagement, improve patient education, and streamline physician-patient communications. All of this bodes well for busy physicians who simply want to provide high-quality care despite the increasing demands placed on them.
Conclusion
There are many ways in which today’s medical practices can address physician burnout, and leveraging technology is one of them. Take the time to explore what might be fueling healthcare burnout in your practice. Learn how edgeMED can help and be sure to check the Healthy Snacks Blog for more expert insights, best practices and industry trends.
