Primary care physicians can reduce workload and improve patient care by spending less time with patients, according to a Harvard Business Review article.
In the article, David A. Asch, MD, Christian Terwiesch, PhD and Kevin G. Volpp, MD, PhD, explored the increasingly prevalent problem of overworked primary care physicians.
"Primary care physicians are used to being responsible for all aspects of patients' care," the authors wrote. "They are also among the lowest-cost physicians available. For perhaps these same reasons, there aren't a lot of them."
The authors proposed that healthcare systems use technology to handle patients' simpler needs, escalating only what can't be delegated to the physician.
Here are three ways physicians can improve care while seeing patients less:
1. Get the right data to the right recipient. Consider the power of mobile devices in patient feedback loops to monitor changes in blood sugar, weight or blood pressure. Delegate some of the screening work to patients so they handle baseline care before nurses and physicians handle exceptions.
2. Engage patients in their own care. When treating chronic illnesses that have cost savings from improved medication adherence, incorporate financial incentives, which are most effective in inducing desirable behaviors during patient lotteries. The authors found a daily lottery incentive worth $1.40 increased glycemic monitoring device use and was associated with better glycemic control.
3. See primary care as the new tertiary care. Value-based payment arrangements that shift financial risk to providers enable providers to improve efficiency so patients have fewer face-to-face visits and reduce demands on primary care physicians.