Physicians have not traditionally entered the workplace to lead or run businesses; they want to care for people, heal their communities and make a good living. With all the complications that can emerge in health care – compliance regulations and how to care for patients and remain profitable, specifically – physicians are being tapped daily for “extracurricular” management work. But that’s causing big problems for provider organizations nationwide.
Physician Burnout
Physicians are being beat down with declining compensation they take home on an annual basis, grumpy patients armed with Internet knowledge and daily-required documentation due to Federal and state regulations. Add to that, all the new technologies that are employed today that haven’t eliminated physician’s workload and, in some cases, actually created more tension and frustration (think: EHRs). Plus, at the same time, there are not enough physicians to go around. Recruiting physicians is a battle for many, and graduating physicians are unwilling to put in hours that reflect no ability to have a personal life.
Moreover, according to a recent report in the Wall Street Journal, “some 55% of physicians reported that administrative tasks are the main driver of burnout,” along with spending too many hours at work.
So, how does a hospital further leverage this priority partner who is also exhausted and annoyed?
Automation is the Key
Technology design has to be a “no brainer”; meaning it’s intuitive and the physician needs little to no training to interact with your application design. More specifically, there needs to be a payoff for the physician. Their life is directly impacted swiftly in a positive manner, which in Ludi world means they get paid easily and more swiftly for their co-management, on-call or medical directorship agreement they have with their partner hospital system. Put as much behind “single sign-on” as possible. Design the application around what actually happens at the transactional hospital level and make the application directly reflect the work flow.
At Ludi, we are a hospital management team that created a physician application as a “no brainer” to help physicians and hospitals adjudicate their alignment strategies and partnership. Literally, on the physician interface that sits on their phones, there are a whopping four buttons. That’s it. Training is not even necessary for Ludi’s solution as it is intuitive for the physician and follows an intuitive work flow. The point is this. Whatever automation you employ, make sure it incorporates intuitive design, intense “person to person” client service and a company mantra of not torturing physician partners.
