Think Your Doctor Is In A Funk? Your Doctor Would Agree With You

While most doctors are satisfied with their job, most agree the stress levels have increased in recent years, with one out of five admitting to feeling just plain burnt out. In an AMA commissioned study, doctors offered that the EMR was the number one negative factor impacting doctors' morale.

• "What we've created is a monster, when really what we were shooting for was good patient care," said a physician about the government's program to promote "meaningful use" of EHRs with bonuses and penalties. The extra time spent "working the chart" to satisfy meaningful use requirements, the physician said, takes away from face time with the patient.
• "I am not a clerk," added a cardiologist who complained how the technology increased data entry responsibilities. Sixty-one percent of physicians surveyed are like-minded, saying that EHRs require them to perform tasks others could handle.
• "The EHR is not just a one-time investment," said a physician with practice management duties. "It's a hugely expensive, ongoing, every-freaking-day investment."

Other complaints including information's being lost in a maze of data, confusing dropdown menus, and lack of a standard for interoperability. Doctors' offices still rely on faxing hard copy and then having to scan information back into the record.

The electronic record isn't the only stressor. Having to jump over multiple and ever-increasing regulatory hurdles compounds the difficulties doctors face. Struggling to meet government's "Meaningful Use" requirements may be the most prominent hurdle. While striving to provide better patient care by adhering to regulation, office visits take longer. Struggling to keep to the schedule shortens the time actually spent with the patient. Not only does this result in a less than satisfactory doctor-patient relationship but increases the likelihood that an error may occur, potentially, a serious error.

Additionally, some large groups base pay incentives on "productivity." This also impacts adversely on the time spent with the patient and the quality of that time. Finally, in an era of declining payment from third party payors, doctors feel it's not about profitability anymore - it's about viability.

So next time you think your doctor is stressed and rushing, he is. Why not take his hand and offer some encouragement? He'll thank you for it.

You can read the study here.