There are 9 extremely important components of building a smart business to provide great medicine for a medical practice. It is of paramount importance to recognize that small issues can be vital, especially when they arise frequently. We may spend a time dissecting a small problem and numerous approaches to its solution. Conversely larger problems do not always require lengthy discussion. We aim to provide actionable timely information, not a gripe session or empty call to action. No one needs another time sink.
Burned Out on Burnout?
If you are anything like me and my partners, you don’t need to be told that the health care system is broken or that we are burning out. We live it every day. Like many of you, I am a practicing physician with over 20 years’ experience. I run a private practice and hospital-affiliated clinical neurophysiology and sleep programs.
There are hundreds, if not thousands, of articles about the sad state of medicine. Burnout is finally being recognized as a serious problem. Unfortunately, the answers being proposed to address burnout are woefully inadequate. Mostly, we see descriptions of the problem and calls to act, but no concrete steps or solutions that can be put into practice. Most of the suggestions being made to decrease stress and reduce burn- out have proven insufficient. Interestingly, many of these suggestions come from individuals not directly in the fray. Some have proposed that the answer to burnout is simply to immerse yourself in the practice of medicine. That would be wonderful if it didn’t come with such a hefty price.
The problem is not simply that we are tired of paperwork or burdened by administrative duties. The quagmire in which we find ourselves is a product of a complex web of mind-numbing repetitive paperwork, burdensome and questionable administrative duties, high (and often unreasonable) patient expectations, among numerous other issues both large and small. How can we expect the patient that is the health care system to get better, if we don’t treat the entire problem?