Physician burnout is a real phenomenon. It has been talked about a lot recently, conjuring up images of tired doctors who are battle-fatigued by the daily grind of practicing medicine. Some feel that burnout is a result of the immense responsibility that comes with caring for other human beings, while others focus on the demanding schedule that doctors must endure on a daily basis. For me it was none of the above. In the end I think it was the broken processes making my hard job even harder, with no reasonable solution in sight.
The patient responsibility aspect was something I knew I had signed up for when I entered medical school. The rigorous schedule was not an issue for me either, since I tend to thrive in fast-paced environments. But I need efficiency. I need processes that match the workflow and make sense. Wasted time from poorly thought-out solutions is like a rock in my shoe on a 5-mile hike.
When I started in private practice, after I had adjusted to the medical aspects of delivering care (not having attending physicians to bounce things off of), I kept coming back to the processes. Rounding at the hospital, communicating with partners, submitting charges – everything was archaic and harder than it needed to be.
I did not know I was a physician innovator until much later in my career. When I first became frustrated by the mechanics of medicine, I did not know that my passion for software design would ultimately be my cure for physician burnout. Don’t think for a second that the only source of burnout for me was the disjointed workflow of a modern private practice.
There were many contributors, including declining reimbursements, power struggles within my practice, and even the failure of my marriage. The solutions for many of these issues were out of my reach.
Designing my own solution was like therapy for me. I understood the delicate balance of ensuring doctors were productive without the solution becoming more of the problem. Crafting my proprietary knowledge into a real software program was cathartic. I was righting all of the wrongs, thinking outside of the box, and in the end, I created a user-friendly experience that truly improved efficiency for the whole practice. Had no one other than me and my practice used this solution, I would have been happy. The fact that hundreds of doctors across the country, in every specialty, have benefitted from my efforts is extra pride of ownership.
As I reflect upon the experience of recognizing a deficiency, designing the solution, and bringing that solution to reality, I can’t help but wonder if my relief from physician burnout was related to the improved process itself, or the fact that I fixed it myself. There is something about taking control of your destiny, feeling empowered to bring meaningful change, that made my soul feel better.
There are still many gaps and annoyances in the practice of medicine, but I have hope that there are other physician innovators out there, trying to solve real-world problems. I hope to benefit from their creativity and “innovation therapy”. Medicine as a whole will only improve when doctors are active drivers of change.
HybridChart values innovation, whether it comes from the mind of Dr. Sanders or from our clients, We are always looking for ways to improve our solution with ideas from our clients. Learn how you can innovate with us at www.hybridchart.com.
Meet EVOLVE by HybridChart – Our fourth generation software platform.
Take control of your entire workflow through a user-friendly solution created by a physician. Medical software too often fails to address the specific needs of providers. Rounding at one or more hospitals presents a unique challenge. There is the need for effective team collaboration and easy charge capture. Census management means true collaboration among provider and staff. Rounding at multiple facilities just got way easier.
Covering on-call now has the luxury of essential information for clean hand-offs. Charge capture takes less than five seconds. Diagnoses are easy to find and follow the patient. Customized charge menus make it easy to enter the correct charge. Don’t let billing for your work slow you down. Charge in real-time and focus on caring for the patient.
HybridChart has numerous levels of safeguards against missed charges. The Charge Checker feature will scan every day of an admission and assure there are charges. Using the Charge Matrix you have visibility of all charges from multiple providers per day for any given patient.
Most practices see a revenue increase of 8-10% after using HybridChart – attributed to capturing every charge for every patient. Charges are complex enough with just the diagnosis codes and charge codes. To make your charges accurate HybridChart allows you to easily adjust the Date of Service and assign Secondary Billers such as nurse-practitioners and physician assistants. Modifiers can be built into specific Billing Modules or choose from a customized list managed by your practice. Seamlessly navigate our Charge Capture workflow and save time without losing accuracy.
An automated charge capture system may be the most profitable investment that you can make in your practice today.
You can instantly boost your revenue by 10% using our modern, high-tech and easy-to-implement charge capture system.
Smarter Rounding and Workflow Software for Doctors
At HybridChart, we provide technology that connects your healthcare team, increases efficiencies, AND improves your bottom line. HybridChart’s cloud-based software adapts to your practice’s unique workflow and will improve your profitability and patient outcomes by utilizing our 5 features:census management, charge capture, secure messaging, discharge management, and data analytics.
NEVER miss another charge and get PAID for the work you do!
If you are interested in taking your medical practice to the next level and want to employ the best hospital charge capture practice available in the industry, come visit our website at www.hybridchart.com, or call us at 1-877-684-0608 for a demo today!
- More About Dr. Sanders
Dr. Gregory Sanders is a Harvard-trained, practicing cardiologist and founder and CEO of HybridChart. He has been coding since the 1980s and has spent his medical career focusing on improving processes. His patient care skills earned him recognition as one of Phoenix Magazine’s TOP DOCs. He lives in Scottsdale with his family.