Team-based Healthcare Models Lead to More Collaboration, Higher Morale, and an Increased Focus on Patient Care, athenahealth Physician Sentiment Index Finds

Physicians working in team-based models are more likely to say their organizations drive collaboration with other physicians, support patient social determinant needs, and give them more time to focus on patient care by minimizing administrative tasks, according to athenahealth, Inc.’s Physician Sentiment Index 2021 report.

athenahealth, a leading provider of network-enabled software and services for medical groups and health systems nationwide, fielded the survey between October 13, 2020, and December 23, 2020, to a broad sampling of physicians using a variety of EHR vendors. The survey focuses on understanding how physicians feel about the resources and support they receive to do their job to better identify and leverage opportunities to fortify the U.S. essential healthcare workforce. The physicians answered questions related to organizational resources, technological challenges, physician wellbeing, quality patient care, and more.

Team-based Models of Care

The Physician Sentiment Index survey revealed that physicians working in team-based environments – those where clinical and administrative work is shared by various combinations of physicians, nurses, physician assistants, pharmacists, social workers, case managers and other healthcare professionals, each assisting in decision making based on their unique skills to provide the safest, best possible care to patients – overall felt more positively about their organizations, compared with physicians working in traditional or hybrid models. While most physicians responded positively, physicians in a team-based model of care were more likely to feel inspired to go above and beyond what is required.

• Administrative efficiency: Forty percent¹ of the physicians working in a team-based model believed they could focus more on patient care since their organization is set up to minimize time spent on administrative tasks. Only 23% of physicians working in a traditional model and 26% of those working in a hybrid model held this belief.

• Collaboration with colleagues: Seventy-three percent of team-based physicians expressed more frequent positive collaboration with other physicians on difficult cases compared to physicians in traditional or hybrid care models (57%). These physicians (70%) were also more likely to believe that non-physician care team members (RNs, PAs, LPNs) have excellent clinical skills (55% of physicians in a traditional care model felt this way).

• Support for patients: Of the physicians working in a team-based model, 49% believed their organization was set up to support patients' social determinant needs, compared to only 27% of physicians who work in a more traditional care model.

• Recognition of physician commitment: Team-based physicians were one-third more likely to think their commitment to a successful medical practice was recognized compared to physicians in a traditional care setting.

More Control of Time

The Physician Sentiment Index revealed that the more time a physician spent working at home after hours, the less they felt their organization was set up to minimize their administrative burden, and the more likely they were to report feeling rushed at least once a week. The survey found that only 29% of physicians agreed or strongly agreed that their practice was set up to minimize their administrative burden. And the 67% of physicians who “strongly disagreed” that their practice reduces their administrative burden reported feeling rushed more than once per week. Minimizing administrative burden and after-hours work can help physicians feel more satisfied and less rushed.

Technology that Curates Information

More than half of the physicians surveyed agreed or strongly agreed that technology supports their ability to deliver high-quality care to patients. However, the more they feel information overload (e.g., poorly curated information) causes them stress in day-to-day practice, the more often they feel burned out.

“It is an enormous job to manage and distill the patient data and clinical notes that are available,” said Nele Jessel, MD, FAAP, chief medical officer, athenahealth. “While healthcare technologies have created a level of administrative burden for physicians, the survey results show that the right technologies can help curate both the quantity and quality of information that a clinician has to process, as well as minimize the manual effort required to integrate information from multiple sources.”

In addition, the more the physicians believed their EHR supports their ability to deliver high-quality patient care, the less frequently they reported feeling rushed with each patient. Perceptions of the EHR may help explain why 47% of physicians claim they feel rushed and don’t have enough time to spend with each patient.

“To continue to provide high-quality care, physicians must work in a supportive and well-run practice,” continued Jessel. “Reducing administrative tasks and managing information overload is critical for patient care quality, as well as for physician wellbeing.”

To learn more about these findings, please visit: https://www.athenahealth.com/sites/default/files/media_docs/PSI-2021.pdf

Methodology

The survey results are based on 799 physician respondents (using a variety of different EHRs) who completed the survey between October and December 2020. Fifty-four percent of survey respondents described themselves as men, 41% women, 1% other (agender, genderqueer, gender questioning, or transgender), and 4% did not report on gender. Most respondents (64%) were from independent practices, followed by hospital-affiliated practices (22%). A smaller share of respondents was represented by FQHCs and new care delivery models that included direct primary care clinics, urgent care centers/retail clinics, and concierge clinics.

About athenahealth, Inc.

athenahealth partners with medical organizations across the country to drive clinical and financial results. Our vision is to create a thriving ecosystem that delivers accessible, high-quality, and sustainable healthcare for all, and we are pursuing this through our medical record, revenue cycle, patient engagement, and care coordination service offerings. Our expert teams build modern technology on an open, connected ecosystem, yielding insights that make a difference for our customers and their patients. For more information, please visit www.athenahealth.com.

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¹ %s are the proportion of respondents who selected Agree or Strongly Agree on a 6-pt scale from "Strongly Disagree (1) to Strongly Agree (6)

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