The problems with the primary care system is well-documented and shows that the brunt of the burden has been shouldered by the physicians themselves. More and more of our doctors are suffering from burnout,
and the care they are able to provide their patients is dipping as a result.
A surprisingly simple solution to this? Getting help. Many doctors already have assistants, but aren’t using them to the fullest. Instead of trusting their staff with greater responsibilities, some are still
insisting on doing majority of the work themselves. That, however, means more working hours for the doctors and somehow, less attention given to their patients.
Dr. Peter Anderson, though, developed a model called ‘Team Care’ that can teach physicians how to make the most of their support staff and increasing the efficiency of each patient visit.
How it works is in identifying which parts of the process can be delegated to assistants and which parts must be done by the doctors themselves. Commonly, the doctors are involved in every step, from the
collection of the patient’s history, the physical exam, the prescriptions to the patients to things like data input on the computer.
Under Anderson’s model, assistants are trained to conduct patient histories. The doctor, after getting caught up on the history, performs the physical exam and the prescription of a treatment plan
before discussing with the assistant and the patient. The assistant then reviews it with the patient.
Freeing up the physicians from parts of the process allows them to see a much higher volume of patients without sacrificing the quality of time spent with each one. Instead, the assistants do more of the work
that they are qualified for in the first place.
It’s not a revolutionary idea but it is an effective one. Some of those who have used the model have seen increases in patient visits per day by about 50 percent. More importantly, there is no compromise
in the quality of care provided to the patients.
Teamwork and delegation of tasks can lighten the load in a significant way – and save our medical professionals a lot of trouble in the process.
Need any help in accomplishing some medical-related tasks? Get in touch with TukkoMed about services that we can provide to ease the burden on your practice.