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Future Cardiologist Shortage – Tips for Cardiologists And Healthcare Organizations
Almost every day you can read an article or a report that comments about the upcoming and sometimes already present shortage of physicians in this country. These reports are either focused on certain geographical areas or on specialties. The Journal of the American...
Physician Work-Life Balance: The Patient Or The Doctor – Whom To Put First?
We are all replaceable. Many times when I talk with physicians I ask them for the reasons why they are working so many hours, take only short vacations and keep their spare time to a bare minimum. Their answer typically is, “The patient comes first." " My patients...
Primary Care Physician Satisfaction, Burnout And Work Condition
Insufficient working conditions in primary care are associated with adverse physician reactions. Studies publishes in the July 2009 issue (Volume 151 Issue 1 | Pages 28-36) of Annals of Internal Medicine suggest that adverse primary care work conditions could lead to...
Stress And Burnout – A Rising Issue Among Surgeons
A study published in the April 2009 Archives of Surgery revealed that 30 - 38% of surgeons across the country suffer from burnout. That is no surprise to me and I can see these numbers rise rather quickly in the months and years to come if circumstances don’t change...
Drug And Alcohol Abuse Among Healthcare Professionals And How Physician Coaching Can Reduce Or Prevent It
In the January issue of the Atlanta Hospital News Susan K. Blank M.D. wrote an article on “2009 could bring an increase in drug abuse among healthcare professionals”. In this article, Dr. Blank explains that the economic situation and the financial uncertainty in the...
Patient Survey to Improve Practice Efficiency and Patient Retention
Last year I wrote about the Zagat Survey for physician ratings: http://balancedphysician.wordpress.com/category/patient-service/ The Zagat Survey was designed to allow consumers to rate physicians based on 4 criteria: trust, communication, availability and...
Physician Coaching – An Effective Methodology For Performance Improvement
Champions get coached. Sports athletes, actors, and high-level executives in the corporate world typically thrive and succeed with a coach by their side. In today's world, coaching has become a powerful and effective tool in all areas of business. According to a...
Preventing Disruptive Physician Behavior
If cancer ran in your family, you would not wait until you contracted the disease before taking action; you would take preventative measures and possibly avoid cancer completely. Disruptive behavior in health care organizations is a cancer that can spread across...
Medical Residents: Medical Mistakes And Burnout 5 Years After The Policy Change
USA today posted an article on lack of sleep of medical residents on Monday, August 4, 2008. In this article they are talking about the 2003 policy change from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, which cuts shifts to 24 to 30 hours with a...
Annual Fee of Credit Cards
I have a couple of credit cards that I don't use but rather keep for emergency times. One of the cards belongs to the bank where I also keep my personal account. While checking my personal account online, I saw that this credit card was charged $60 and when I looked...
Oncology Burnout – Prevent It Today
HemOnc Today published an article about the increasing rate of oncologist burnout and its lack of recognition. To summarize the article here are the most important facts: Approximately one-third of practicing oncologists experience a significant career burnout,...
Visioning Success
January is typically the time of good intentions, positive resolutions and massive goal setting; a tradition that is hard to give up for many people. We are counting now the 5th week of the month. Are you still on track with your goals, your resolutions, your...
Zagat Survey – An Opportunity or a Disadvantage?
According to an article in the Denver Post Zagat Survey, the online guide known for its ratings of restaurants, hotels and other attractions, intends to add doctors’ offices to its list. They partnered with WellPoint, the parent company of Anthem Blue Cross Blue...
Doctor Moral Shaky – Improvements Are Possible
An article by the American Medical News dated January 15, 2007, reports, “according to a nationwide survey of physicians six (6) in ten (10) doctors have considered leaving medicine because they are discouraged by the health care system.” As a result, more and more...
Lost Revenue In A Medical Practice
Last week a friend of mine told me the following story: On Friday I went for my annual Echo Cardiogram. I was called on Monday to see if I had insurance. A recording called the house on Wednesday to remind me of my appointment saying, "This time has been set aside for...
Lack of Skills is the Reason for Dissatisfaction
A couple of months ago I read the following article. Physician Compensation Survey Reveals "Disappointing" Income Levels - Career satisfaction decreases while overhead costs increase. BALTIMORE, Md. -- July 13, 2006 -- The average take home pay of physicians surveyed...
Disruptive Physician Behavior
When I speak with hospital administrators, many times the topic of disruptive physician behavior comes up. Now that has some obvious reasons. Disruptive physician behavior can damage the hospitals reputation tremendously and it can cost the organization lots of money....