Improving physician satisfaction by eliminating unnecessary practice burdens

A guest column by the American College of Physicians, exclusive to KevinMD.com. In April, the American College of Physicians (ACP) released a position paper titled Putting Patients First by Reducing Administrative Tasks in Health Care, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine. The paper, part of ACP’s Patients Before Paperwork initiative, is a thoughtful look at the many administrative tasks that physicians face every day. It presents a framework for evaluating these tasks and calls on health plans, regulators, vendors, and others to consider this framework when they impose new requirements on physicians. This position paper is not a “Hell, no!” declaration. It calls for stakeholders to work with physicians to assess the burden of each administrative task, consider less-burdensome alternatives (or eliminate tasks altogether), and for tasks that are implemented, explore ways of minimizing the negative impact on physicians and their patients. I was particularly pleased to see that the paper mentioned the Quadruple Aim, a concept described by Drs. Christine Sinsky and Thomas Bodenheimer that adds provider satisfaction to the Triple Aim goals of improved patient experience, better population health, and lower cost. I wrote about the Quadruple Aim in an earlier KevinMD column and in a commentary in the Journal of Graduate Medical Education. Continue reading ... Your patients are rating you online: How to respond. Manage your online reputation: A social media guide. Find...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - Category: General Medicine Authors: Tags: Policy Practice Management Primary Care Public Health & Source Type: blogs