“There is not a single discipline of medicine that faces greater administrative and regulatory burden than family physicians and other primary care physicians,” the AAFP wrote in the letter, which was signed by President John Meigs, MD. “In fact, research referenced in this letter shows that family physicians face a regulatory burden that is unmatched among the various medical disciplines.”
The letter cited a study published in December in the Annals of Internal Medicine that found physicians typically spend 49 percent of their time on administrative tasks and just 27 percent of the time engaging with patients.
In the letter, the AAFP included a proposal for reforms to alleviate the burden of cumbersome administrative tasks. For example, “The AAFP asks CMS and Congress to eliminate the use of prior authorizations in the Medicare program for generic drugs, create a single PA form that all Medicare Part D plans must use, and further limit or reduce the number of products and services requiring PAs.”
When it comes to EHRs and technology, which the AAFP cites as a major burden on their practice, the academy asks HHS to “place the burden of compliance on EHR vendors and not on physicians,” and to hold EHR vendors accountable for poor design and performance of their products.
To read about all of the AAFP’s proposals, click here.
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