At HealthHelper, we recognize the evolving dynamics of healthcare, particularly highlighted by a JAMA Internal Medicine study on the impact of telehealth on overworked physicians.
”Primary care physicians (PCPs) spend the most time on the EHR of any specialty. While more time on the EHR is associated with some better preventive care outcomes. Those gains may come at a cost, as physician time spent on the EHR, particularly after hours, is associated with emotional exhaustion and higher rates of burnout. Understanding what factors shape PCPs’ use of EHRs and contribute to varying EHR time is a critical goal for both health systems and policy makers navigating how to deliver high quality care without overburdening the clinical workforce”.
Physicians faced longer hours, both during and after patient care, with EHR documentation jumping from 6.35 to 8.18 hours and a noticeable increase in patient communication. These findings underscore the importance of refining healthcare systems, advocating for balanced, team-based workflows to mitigate EHR burden and sustain physician well-being in this telehealth-integrated era.
The healthcare world is constantly changing, and EHRs are a significant part of this evolution. However, these records are putting immense pressure on primary care physicians, impacting patient care. The Study by JAMA Internal Medicine brings the issue to light.
The EHR Challenge:
HealthHelper recognizes the growing workload for primary care physicians due to EHRs. The study indicates that these doctors spend more time on EHRs than any other medical specialty which, while sometimes leading to better care, also results in stress and burnout. Especially after extended working hours.
Impact on Patient Care:
The extended hours spent on EHRs means less time for actual patient care. Physicians have gone from 6.35 to 8.18 hours, and this can be translated into: doing other tasks while talking to patients and therefore, less quality on actual patient care. We need to find a better balance in the healthcare system, where doctors can focus more on their patients and less on administrative work.
Telehealth's Role:
Adding telehealth to the mix has changed things even more. While it's a great tool, it's also created new challenges for doctors, especially in balancing their work and personal life. We need to think about how to make healthcare systems better to support doctors in this new world.
Primary Care in Crisis:
Primary care is facing tough times. There's a lot of burnout among staff, and it's hard to find and keep good people. The study says that doctors would need to work almost 27 hours a day to give patients the care they need. This includes seeing patients and doing other tasks like managing care and coordinating treatments. The heavy workload and not-so-great pay make it hard for primary care to attract and keep staff, which could lower the quality of patient care.
Our Solution?
At HealthHelper, we are committed to improve access to primary care for all. We offer solutions that directly aim to the recognition of challenge of provider burnout, especially due to time-consuming tasks. We are dedicated to streamlining these duties by alleviating the burden of healthcare providers and improving patient outcomes.
Our approach focuses on offloading tasks from primary care providers and staff to make their workdays shorter and less overwhelming.
By automating and simplifying processes, HealthHelper enables physicians to concentrate more on direct patient care. In short, our end goal is to help offload time-consuming complicated work so so physicians can provide higher-value care to their patients, and so patients are properly supported in receiving their recommended preventive care.
In the face of these challenges, HealthHelper stands as a solution. Our technology is designed to alleviate the burden on healthcare providers, ensuring more direct patient care and less administrative strain.
Embrace a sustainable healthcare practice with HealthHelper. Book a demo today and explore how we can help you achieve efficient, patient-centered healthcare.
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