When it comes to habits, scientists have found something alarming: It can take up to nine months to break an old habit. Though it can be far less for recently acquired habits, for those proclivities that have been ingrained to the point that they’re part of our muscle memory, it can be an arduous [...]
Your productivity is under assault – mountains of paperwork are raining down on your practice, creating a barrier that’s standing between you and your passion for patient care. And there, atop the blockade, is the ultimate insult – inpatient census management, which stretches out like barbed wire. This continuing battle to manage your hospital-bound [...]
The ticking of the clock can represent both an opportunity and a struggle for today’s practicing physicians. The romantic view of a doctor’s role as a healer has been replaced with a much harsher reality: Mountains of paperwork, hours of data entry, and a struggle to reconcile the need to see patients with the [...]
Inpatient medicine is unique. Unlike the singular relationship between patient and provider in the office, hospitalized patients are often cared for by a team of doctors and APPs, sometimes changing on a daily basis. How are these providers to relay information to each other? With each day there is another chapter of a patient’s [...]
Long gone are the good old days of pagers and fax machines to help doctors and practices communicate (thank goodness). With the recognition of patient privacy needs and advancements in technology, there are now secure electronic options for messaging. Which should you choose? What do you really need? Privacy Is the Priority Providers and [...]
In the practice of medicine no two worlds are farther apart than the inpatient and outpatient ones. There is a true disconnection between the goings-on in the hospital and the support staff back at the office. Unfortunately, this gap often leads to loss of patient follow up, suboptimal care, and in certain instances, hospital [...]
You work hard as a medical provider taking care of patients. There are the countless hours interacting with nurses and families. Then comes the documentation, which seems to get more demanding with each passing year. To not receive compensation for your work is not an option. Yet somehow we have processes in place that [...]
The process of rounding at the hospital has been paper-based since the beginning of time. Providers print a list of patients, fold it neatly into their pocket, and proceed to venture from floor to floor of each hospital they cover. Along the way they diligently collect paper facesheets containing patient demographics and insurance information, [...]
Medical providers have been faced with the harsh reality of reduced time with direct patient care. The transition has been gradual, with documentation and clerical requirements supplanting time spent on history and physical exam. The current paradigm dictates that if it isn’t documented, it didn’t happen. Also, without adequate documentation, getting paid for your [...]
Just the thought of change makes us groan. We are fine. Please do not disrupt everything. It is human nature to protect what is perceived to be working. Doctors and medical practices are no different. We know our processes are broken and antiquated. So why not revamp them? Why is it easier to kick [...]
