Do Physicians Want Out of Healthcare?

Despite physician burnout being at the forefront of the health-tech conversation, the nationwide Physician Misery Index has increased from 3.78 to 3.94 since 2015, inching closer to the upper limit of five, according to a report published by Geneia, a healthcare analytic solutions and services company.

One major finding of the report, released today, was that 80 percent of physician respondents said they are at risk for burnout. What’s more, 70 percent know a physician who is likely to stop practicing medicine in the next five years due to burnout. And while electronic health records (EHRs) are often linked to burnout, the report reflected consistent feelings about the technology, based on Geneia’s first survey in 2015.

>> READ: Fixing Physician Burnout Is More Than Just the Decent Thing to Do

Nearly half of the physicians (52 percent) had mixed opinions about EHRs in the workplace, while 21 percent had positive views and 23 percent had negative views.

Almost all physicians (96 percent) said EHRs should be designed better to seamlessly integrate with the technology systems used by their office and its insurance providers, but 57 percent said their EHRs don’t integrate.

A majority of physicians (68 percent) also do not feel they have the proper resources to analyze and use EHR data to their full potential. This could cause physicians to spend more time using — or trying to use — the system.

In fact, 96 percent of those surveyed said the amount of time physicians spend inputting and reporting data in the last 10 years has increased.

Business constraints and regulations have changed healthcare for the worse, 89 percent of surveyed physicians said. Additionally, 86 percent said the heightened demand for data reporting for quality metrics and the business side of healthcare diminished their joy in practicing medicine.

However, physicians with more access to population health tools and analytics have had a more positive outlook on the technologies’ benefits.

About 79 percent of physicians reported value in “having a seamlessly integrated EHR analytics tool able to produce predictive analytics reporting on your existing data.”

Among the users and non-users of population health tools, value-based care models and the population health management tools have been useful in identifying high-risk patients who need screenings or care management.

Population health users (64 percent) believe the tech can be used to efficiently assess patient history and needs, compared to 50 percent of non-users.

More than 68 percent of users said advanced analytics tools are important for treating and being compensated for care under value-based care arrangements in today’s U.S. healthcare system.

The survey reflected the views of 300 full-time physicians nationwide who have been practicing post-residency medicine for more than four years.

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