In this crucial time of pandemic when everyone is facing some challenges, the hospitals and physicians are facing two important challenges which are mental health and work timings. This pandemic has cost a lot more than money, as people have died due to coronavirus and many are still suffering. People have lost their jobs, and some are craving food even. These are tough times not for the physicians only but for people around the globe.
Moreover, doctors and physicians have a huge burden on their shoulders. They are concerned with saving the lives of people and thus going through the crucial times. According to the statistics, 60% of the doctors are facing challenges that are not being improved accordingly. While 40 percent are those who have their private clinics but are fighting the illness of people on their own.
We have somehow managed to collect data, but it is hard to reach out now to the doctors. The work environment of physicians poses both psychosocial, ergonomic, and physio-chemical threats. The psychosocial work environment has, if anything, worsened. Demands at work increase at the same time as influence over one’s work and intellectual stimulation from work decrease.
The medical billing companies are providing some kind of incentive to the physicians but even though they have to face challenges that are to be sorted out accordingly. Here are the challenges faced by healthcare workers:
- Chronically ill
According to the statistics of the USA, more than 25 percent of doctors said that they are not well prepared to handle the patients who have multiple illnesses. The younger population has more diseases which lead to the deaths of 7 to 10 people each day. The physicians have a challenge in handling this situation.
- Administrative Burden
Physicians have reported that despite giving a treatment to the patients, they face a burden given by the administration. Such burden considers the following documents of the patients which are accessed by a few members of the administration. Thus, physicians are not well accumulated.
- Mental Illness
Physicians’ all-time great challenge is maintaining their mental health. While the physicians are working on the ground to help the people in a lot of stress and work burden, mental health can fall. You must have seen while visiting a clinic that how much a physician has to take in while giving the treatment to the patients. On one side they are giving treatments to the patients but on the other, they are fighting their mental health. This burdensome amount is the greatest challenge for physicians.
- Salary
While many doctors charged a lot of fees and bills, forty percent of healthcare employees believed poor salary was an issue at their jobs. CareerBuilder researchers found it interesting that salary was ranked so low; while 40 percent identified the problem as a major challenge, almost as many people (37 percent) said the poor culture of the organization was a challenge. For nurses, the poor salary was less of an issue, with 35 percent of nurses citing salary as a problem compared to 42 percent of other healthcare workers. For physicians, it remains a challenge.
- Less Time with Patients
Twenty percent of healthcare professionals felt challenged by an inadequate amount of time spent with patients. In a study published that examined time allocation in clinical practice, researchers concluded: “For every hour physicians provide direct clinical face time to patients, nearly 2 additional hours spent on EHR and desk work within the clinic day. Outside office hours, physicians spend another 1 to 2 hours of personal time each night doing additional computer and other clerical work.”
- EHR
Electronic health records give access to the physicians of the same institution to reach out for the patient’s data and discuss the issue. Quite easy it seems, but one cannot give access to the physicians in another institution. There are many matters each day when physicians have to discuss in a meeting but when there will be no system or easy access then it can create a huge problem.
- Less and Unqualified Staff
Many doctors have claimed that they don’t have access to the staff who are qualified and well for the job. The organizations do not search for the experience instead keep a person of their own choice which keeps a burden on the physicians. Many medical billing companies provide access to the doctors and help them out by giving the best treatment to their customers. Otherwise, physicians complain about having very few staff members with a lot of patients. No work balance shifts the burden on one side.
- Burnout
The most recent NEJM Catalyst survey on physician burnout and resilience found that 83 percent of clinicians and healthcare leaders believe physician burnout is a “serious” or “moderate” problem in their organizations. Many doctors work 80 hours or more weekly, and relatively little of that time is spent interacting with patients. Doctors and their staff spend so much time complying with new regulations, adapting to new technology, and addressing the economics of maintaining a practice, it’s no wonder burnout remains a constant threat.
- Lawsuit
The job for physicians is a crucial one and any mishap can cause big damage. The medical malpractice threat is common and a great challenge for the physicians.
- Up-to-date Technology
Information technology costs have soared in physician practices in recent years, and they’re not expected to drop in the foreseeable future. keeping the costs of IT and support down is a major concern for many doctors. More and more practices are moving to cloud-based EHRs, billing systems, and patient education programs to avoid the upfront cost of new software and computers.
- Tech for Patients
When the sectors are improving the standard of technology, healthcare is quite expensive. The healthcare Internet of Things market is expected to hit $117 billion by 2020. Thus, covering huge data and acquiring new equipment need a cumbersome amount.
The physician’s job is not easy, and it needs a lot of work and effort. We all should respect them by any means.