Technology is Interfering With Your Doctor's Visit and Its Driving Physicians Crazy

In a recent Rand study, doctors said being able to provide high quality healthcare is the primary driver of their satisfaction. However, the study also found the number of factors contributing to dissatisfaction is becoming almost insurmountable.

Electronic health records (EHRs), widely touted as technological tools to improve patient care, have in fact increased physicians’ workloads and administrative burdens. Additionally, as revealed in that same Rand study, physicians complained that their digital record systems are interfering with face-to-face encounters with their patients. Physicians recognize the over-hyped promise of EHRs – having relevant patient data at the time of visit – and the reality of incomplete information because lab, x-ray, and pharmacy systems are not interoperable. Couple the burden and disappointment of inadequate EHRs with the added obligation of entering data to a patient record at the rate of 30-40 keystrokes per patient, and physicians are left with much less time for real patient care.

Survey: 46% of Patients Treated "Poorly" for Pain by Physicians

How do pain patients feel they are treated by their doctors and pharmacists?

“I have to practically beg for pain relief medicine that I am constantly told they can’t legally give me.”

“My doctor is more worried about the DEA than about treating me.”

“My pain management doctor treats me very well. My pharmacist treated me like a drug seeker.”

Physicians Often Uncertain in Ordering, Interpreting Lab Tests, Survey Finds

A survey of primary care physicians suggests they often face uncertainty in ordering and interpreting clinical laboratory tests, and would welcome better electronic clinical decision support tools. The results of the survey were sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

“The optimal testing pathways to arrive at correct diagnoses is changing, so it is difficult for primary care physicians to keep up with new and efficient testing algorithms,” says Dr. John Hickner, professor and head of family medicine at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine, the corresponding author on the paper. “This is a situation that clearly fosters uncertainty, so the results of the survey are not all that surprising.”

Recognizing our Physicians on Doctor's Day-March 30th

Today, patients interact with physicians in the doctor's office, hospital, operating room, emergency department, home setting, nursing home, hospice facility, and in person, via phone, and increasingly through secure Internet portals. With every interaction, physicians live out a lifelong personal commitment to serving patients.

In recognition of National Doctors' Day, March 30, we honor them for their service and commitment.