A recent survey revealed that physicians in the USA are experiencing an overwhelming amount of clinical work along with reading lately. According to the team of researchers, this excessive amount of work is restricting physicians from undergoing critical and innovative medical research work.
The Survey
Doximity conducted this crucial survey just when the medical care sector is encountering one of the gravest problems – workforce shortage clubbed with rising rates of overworked people.
The team covered 600 physicians from 54 specialties such as cardiology, neurology, oncology, gastroenterology and endocrinology for their inquiry. The reason for choosing these specialties remains their involvement in dealing with the most critical health issues.
The Survey Outcomes
Of these physicians, 95% remarked that they would like to know more about the new treatment methods, trials, and procedures that could be conducive to better patient outcomes. On the other hand, 68% of physicians mentioned that they often find themselves overwhelmed with the amount of information and data they need to maintain.
Based on these outcomes, the report suggested that while many physicians intend to delve into more research and acquire more information by reading patient outcome improvement methods, they seldom find enough time to do so. The excessive amount of work they deal with keeps them away from such opportunities.
The findings of the survey stand in harmony with the earlier claims of the physicians and the industry groups that the administrative work is too much to handle and it often restricts the scope of the life-long learning process necessary for the evolution of the overall medical facilities.
Physicians often burnout due to such excessive work, and, as a result, it impacts the overall healthcare workforce and outputs gravely.
The Physician’s Perspective
Amidst the rush, physicians often miss out on the latest innovations in the field of medical science and the healthcare industry. However, 98% of physicians remarked that they somehow manage to keep up with the medical news magazines to amass the latest information about the healthcare industry in an average workday.
But, 60% of physicians mentioned that they only get to flip through the medical journals and magazines between two patient visits. Of the 600 physicians covered in the survey, most remarked that they spend a humble 30 minutes reading the journals every day and 41% clarified that they get only 15 minutes for this task.
What was alarming is that 65% also mentioned that they do not get any time at all to remain updated with the latest medical research, products, clinical trials, treatment methods, etc. According to them, gaining more medical knowledge has become a choice between work and leisure. They often sacrifice their free time for staying in touch with the latest innovations.
The Underlying Problems
What alarms the physicians more is the extent of widening taking place in the field of medical knowledge. Since 2010, the available medical knowledge is doubling every 3.5 years. This fast pace evolution is making the task of keeping up with the latest knowledge more difficult for overworked physicians.
This pace will continue to grow in the coming years. Hence, the physicians see no scope of relief for them any time soon. Some physicians also complained about having received irrelevant information and news that do not belong to the specific domain of a particular physician’s practice.
All physicians intend to gather more information pertaining to their related fields and the nature of the patients they treat.
In short, the report showed that if physicians get relevant information about the latest innovations in the field of their practice, improving the overall quality of treatment and medical facilities becomes easier for them.
No matter the specialty a physician deal with, the number of patients grows everyday due to mobile-connected services. Catering to all of them efficiently would be possible and less time-consuming with advanced treatment methods and products.
According to the report of the survey, the physicians are pretty interested to know more about the latest innovations in their relevant fields from industry experts, colleagues, online platforms, leaders, and more.
Physicians prefer watching short videos to the long duration ones. The survey further added that physicians would prefer brevity in research information.
The Remedy
The Doximity report concluded that physicians need more effective content clubbed with improved engagement strategies. Since physicians are busier than ever, the content should be information-rich and brief at the same time.
Therefore, all forms of content meant for these physicians should be void of ambiguity and be specific. Physicians cannot afford to ignore patient care in order to gain more information and knowledge.
But, learning about the latest medical field innovation remains equally important for all physicians regardless of their specialties. Therefore, the final content should be supportive of both – patient care and learning.
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