A survey conducted by MedScape cited that 42 percent of physicians deal with physician burn-out and/or depression. Of those physicians, 40 percent of them noted that the burn-out/depression affects their ability to care for patients, while 42 percent noted it makes them less engaged with colleagues and peers.
We’ve long known that physicians are put under a great deal of stress, and increasing regulations and patient loads have only added to the issue.
Physician satisfaction ratings are not only an indicator of how pleased our providers are, but also has significant effects on overall employee satisfaction, patient satisfaction, practice reputation, and overall patient outcomes.
Digging in deeper, the survey found that 24 percent of physicians feel practice computerization (technology) adds to their stress.
In addition to the technical benefits of cloud computing, we’ve found it also offers benefits that can help improve physician satisfaction and reduce burnout.
We regularly hear positive feedback directly from physicians after their migration to Netgain’s cloud environment. From feedback we’ve received, here are four ways the cloud improves physician satisfaction:
- Reduce Costs = Improve Compensation
Twenty-four percent of physicians cite insufficient compensation as a factor contributing to burnout. Cloud computing can help practices save money, which, in many private-practices, translates directly to more money in the physician’s pockets.
The nature of cloud computing helps practices reduce capital expenses by not having large, capital purchases every few years. Rather, the costs of cloud computing are budget-able and stable based on the number of users and the resources utilized. Overall, practices tend to save money utilizing cloud computing versus the traditional on-premises computing model. - Performance = Greater control
Lack of control was cited as a factor for 21 percent of physicians experiencing burnout. When technology issues arise in the exam room or physicians experience outages or delays, they often feel out of control, because they’re not able to immediately fix the issue, which means they’re not able to best serve their patient sitting next to them.Cloud computing offers performance benefits that are unrivaled. Expert cloud service providers configure technical environments that are right-sized for the resources needed. Further, appropriate telecom that has built-in redundancy leads to superior performance so physicians (and all users) are able to be use the system productively.
- Availability = Reduced hours at work
Almost no one envies the hours that physicians spend at the office, in the exam room, in the operating room, or generally addressing administrative issues and tasks.Secure, remote availability via the cloud allows physicians to have access to their data anywhere at any time. So, whether they’re at a satellite clinic, on a beach vacation, or at a conference across the country, they’re more flexible to address tasks and respond to issues from anywhere.
- Enhanced security = Shared regulation responsibility
Increased government regulations are putting stress on nearly every position within practices – but especially physicians. Sixteen percent of physicians say government regulations are a source of stress and burnout.
Cloud providers like Netgain come alongside practices as a Business Associate under HIPAA’s Security Rule. They share in the responsibility and protection of a practice’s data. Good cloud providers are experts in security, offer employee training, advise on security best practices and tools, and take a pro-active approach to security, minimizing physicians stress and concern.
There are so many factors that affect physician satisfaction and burnout rates; there are so many pieces to this puzzle. Netgain is working with clinic administrators nationwide to do what we can to help improve physician satisfaction, which we know improves overall patient care.