Episode 028: A Deep Dive Into Who Today's Doctors Are

Who is that man or woman in the white coat? What is he/she thinking as you are being examined or operated on? Is that physician burned out? Suicidal? Feeling optimistic about his/her profession? The future? There is a lot going on between the ears of that physician that isn't devoted to healing people. Today, I take a deep dive solo-style into the results of the comprehensive 2018 Survey of American Physicians by the Physician's Foundation.

There is no shortage of insights into the lives of physicians found within the study. Most provide data backing up a lot of what we have been discussing in the prior episodes of the Paradocs. The reason physicians go into medicine and stay in medicine is the patient-physician relationship. In fact, nearly 80% of physicians mark that as the number one point of professional satisfaction. Not surprisingly, any impediment to the relationship becomes a very big dissatisfier and point of contention. The two most commonly cited were electronic health records and regulatory burden/insurance rules.

We also get some fresh insights into the work habits of young physicians which shows that they work more hours/week (54.73) versus older physicians (49.8) yet see less patients per day. Another finding is that because of the adoption of the electronic health record, nearly 15 hours/week is spent on non-clinical paperwork. Not only is this something to make physicians unhappy but it significantly affects the access patients have to getting care from doctors whether primary care or specialists.

Storm Trooper Medics — Physicians are pessimistic about the future of health care. Maybe it's time to triage.

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show notes

2018 Survey of American Physicians: The comprehensive survey of physicians' attitudes, practice types, and demographics.

Episode 027: Discussing the opioid crisis with Dr. Howard Grattan.

Memorial for Andy Larson: This is the donation link to honor Andy's death with the Grand Rapids Choir of Men and Boys where he blossomed and served as a head chorister.

YouTube for Paradocs: Here you can watch the video of my late son singing his solo on the Paradocs YouTube page.

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Episode 028: A Deep Dive Into Who Today’s Doctors Are

Episode 028