Watertown Regional Medical Center’s Post

Imagine if, at the end of every 8+ hour workday, you had another 8 hours' worth of work to complete. A recent Journal of General Internal Medicine article says this is exactly what primary care clinicians and some specialists like endocrinologists and Infectious Diseases physicians face daily when it comes to the electronic health record (EHR). We must ask ourselves if this is sustainable for the healthcare workforce, and what to do about it. Where do those additional 8 hours come from? At what cost? If some specialties (Anesthesiology, Orthopedics, ENT, Surgery, Dermatology) can spend 1/4 to 1/2 the amount of time on additional documentation tasks, are there any lessons to be learned? And what system-level solutions can we implement? Source: https://lnkd.in/eyXEBnZ9

Doctor #Appointment Availability by #Specialty and #City in America. It is difficult to make a #doctor's appointment in America because over 71,000 doctors have #left the practice of medicine since the Pandemic. A study by ECG Management Consultants (a subsidiary of Siemens) surveyed 3,712 doctors' offices across America and found that the average #WaitTime to schedule an appointment is 38 days. Keep in mind, #hospital systems try have patients scheduled within 14 days! Wait times vary dramatically by #Specialty (from least to greatest): --Orthopedic Surgery 20 days --General Surgery 22 days --Pediatrics 24 days --Family Practice 29 days --Ob/Gyn 37 days --Cardiology 39 days --Dermatology 40 days --Gastroenterology 48 days --Neurology and Rheumatology 60+ days Wait times also vary by #MetroArea (from least to greatest) --Houston 27 days --New York City 28 days --Phoenix 31 days --Dallas - Fort Worth 32 days --Philadelphia 36 days --Washington DC 36 days --Chicago 39 days --San Diego 41 days --Seattle 44 days --Minneapolis - St. Paul 45 days --Boston 70 days!! Making a doctor's appointment in America is hard. Be prepared to make a lot of #phone calls. Don't give up after just one or two calls if you cannot find an appointment time to your liking. You may need to make #five or 10 calls. Sources at AHealthcareZ YouTube Channel.

🔍 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞: Did you know the average wait time to schedule a specialist appointment is 38 days? 😯 This delay can be stressful for employees and their families, especially when timely care is so important. ✨ 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐒𝐢𝐝𝐞: With SUMMUS, a LOT can be accomplished during that 38-day wait: - 𝐃𝐨𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫-𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐍𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Our Summus MDs directly connect with members and their family and help them understand everything there is to know about their question, concern, or diagnosis. - 𝐅𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐬: Even before the scheduled appointment, we can link members to specialists for second opinions and insights, helping them feel informed and empowered. - 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐝 𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭: We address unique concerns and manage co-existing health conditions, focusing on the specific needs of each member. - 𝐄𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐬: We equip our members with valuable information about their conditions, treatment pathways, and preventive strategies, preparing them to take action when their appointment arrives. At Summus, we believe every moment counts. We look at the waiting period as an opportunity to empower our members to make better, more informed medical decisions. Let’s transform the waiting game into a proactive journey toward better health! 💪 #Healthcare #PatientExperience #Summus #HealthEquity

There are 3 types of physician shortages in America causing the delayed appointment times (access) listed below and associated delayed diagnostics and treatments… 1) not enough physicians working per geographic locale per Capita as per rural and poor net worth areas 2) shortages caused by insurer limited physician (provider) panels per plan to enhance health insurer profits by diminishing labor costs and patient service expenditures (insurer losses). 3) shortages of physicians due to workflow and time sinks caused by diverting physicians from their appointed rounds towards mandated tasks with little or no clinical efficacy such as inputting data into EHRs, overriding insurer prior authorization rationing, MIPS input MOC etc….

Interesting look at appointment wait times by specialty and location. What's interesting is that when you ask specialists what percentage of patients seen really needed to see them, the answer is generally around 50%. If we gave primary care providers the time or, if specialists had good screening questions to prioritize appointments, we could significantly reduce wait times. When you are wondering whether or not you have a brain tumor, waiting 60 days for a neurologist appointment isn't realistic. The likelihood that you get scared and show up in the emergency room is pretty high. Inappropriate utilization, wasted resources and poor quality care in one simple example.

This video discusses the variation in indirect practice expenses across different medical specialties. It highlights that some specialties, like ophthalmology and urology, use expensive equipment, affecting their costs. The AMA is conducting a survey to update the data on costs and equipment. Check out the full episode on OBGYN coding: https://lnkd.in/eG6k2a-5 #healthcaremanagement #obgyn #medicine #surgeryeducation #medicalcoding #OBGYN55

Came across this posting from Eric Bricker, MD, mentioning Rheumatology (amongst other specialties) and the difficulties in making a patient appointment. He is my #hero. For those of you who know me in WI, you will appreciate my unvarnished input. I can only speak by experience. In WI, where vast conglomeration of hospitals exist, and for a specialty like Rheumatology with a *national* shortage, hospitals are booking 4+ months out while an *independent* practice such as the one I work at w Dr Rosler can accomodate a NEW patient in a few days, or same day. There is no incentive for hospitals to alleviate their backlog (ie all within) UNLESS patients demand 2B referred elsewhere. And how do I know this? Because facilities (plural) employed physicians have to justify themselves for having referred outside their mandated conglomerate by writing in the referral “Patient is requesting to be seen in Rheumatology with Dr.Rosler”. It appears word of mouth is a leading source of referrals nowadays, which is great, particularly amongst the Latino patient population as Dr Rosler’s native language (and mine, as their Advocate) is Spanish. Regardless of ethnicity or background, and for someone to have to wait months to see a Rheumatologist, is NUTS, especially if there is a potential for a serious immunological condition like Lupus, Vasculitis, RA, Scleroderma, etc. Our model is shifting to Direct Rheumatology Specialty as insurance w its so called “networks” is a dissability or death sentence for patients. And “networks”, as I personally see them, lend themselves to LESS quality care. Plus, I ❤️collaborating with #DPC, w no middlemen. Call or email me directly, if you wish to schedule your patient. Nilsa@mkerheumatology.com 414-324-7497 ( NO JUNK CALLS OR EMAILS or u will experience the wrath of a Latina).

Doctor #Appointment Availability by #Specialty and #City in America. It is difficult to make a #doctor's appointment because over 71,000 doctors have left the practice of medicine since the Pandemic. A study by ECG Management Consultants (a subsidiary of Siemens Healthineers) surveyed 3,712 doctors' offices across America and found that the average wait time to schedule an appointment is 38 days. Keep in mind, hospital systems try have #patients scheduled within 14 days! Wait times vary dramatically by #Specialty (from least to greatest): --Orthopedic Surgery 20 days --General Surgery 22 days --Pediatrics 24 days --Family Practice 29 days --Ob/Gyn 37 days --Cardiology 39 days --Dermatology 40 days --Gastroenterology 48 days --Neurology and Rheumatology 60+ days Wait times also vary by #MetroArea (from least to greatest) --Houston 27 days --New York City 28 days --Phoenix 31 days --Dallas - Fort Worth 32 days --Philadelphia 36 days --Washington DC 36 days --Chicago 39 days --San Diego 41 days --Seattle 44 days --Minneapolis - St. Paul 45 days --Boston 70 days!! Making a doctor's appointment in America is hard. Be prepared to make a lot of #PhoneCalls. Don't give up after just one or two calls if you cannot find an appointment time to your liking. You may need to make five or 10 calls. Sources at AHealthcareZ YouTube Channel.

If you haven't seen this video by Eric Bricker, MD please watch it. In the US, booking a doctor's appointment can take weeks, highlighting a deeper issue of lack of access in our healthcare system. How do we solve this? Training more physicians is costly and there is significant lead time. Technology can enhance physician productivity by decreasing the time we spend on non-value-added activities such as documentation, but there is a ceiling, and even with the best case scenario of a perfect solution, it won’t solve access issues. A more immediate and impactful solution lies in expanding the roles of other healthcare professionals. Pharmacists, for instance, can provide clinical services for non-procedural scenarios where advanced diagnostics and medical decision-making aren't required. Leveraging the existing pharmacy infrastructure can quickly improve access and address geographical and financial barriers that other solutions cannot easily overcome. However, for this to work, pharmacists need to be recognized as providers and compensated accordingly. We also need to integrate these services efficiently into already busy pharmacies without overburdening them. Innovation in healthcare requires creativity; more of the same will not solve the problems created by the status quo. How can we best support pharmacists and enhance access for all? Please let me know your thoughts!