Integration & Physician Issues

The pandemic has exposed a long-standing mental health crisis among U.S. healthcare workers.

Many physicians face high pressure and trauma while working, yet structural barriers — often enforced by medical boards and hospital systems — can discourage them from accessing potentially life-saving care, reports Vox.

No physician relishes time spent typing up postoperative reports. Using voice recognition technology to dictate reports in the operating room presents a breakthrough that can save time, improve accuracy and ease surgeons' administrative burden.

Physicians spend significant time performing nonpatient-facing tasks like documentation, that are necessary but ultimately take time away from one-to-one patient care.

Palomar Health physicians are pushing back against a switch in contracted healthcare workers proposed by the Escondido, Calif.-based health system over concerns about safety and staffing, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune.

Steven Weiss, MD, a physician at Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic has been fired after self-publishing a book about working through the pandemic and identifying himself as a Mayo employee, according to a June 19 report by the Leader-Telegram.

A Pennsylvania Hospital physician who was stabbed multiple times by a patient in February sued the hospital June 16, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Female physicians experience burnout more frequently than men, report spending more time doing administrative duties and spend more time working off the clock, according to a June 15 report by EHR vendor Athenahealth.

Jack Resneck Jr., MD, a dermatologist from San Francisco, is the new president-elect of the American Medical Association.

Houston Physicians' Hospital is debuting an independent provider network, the hospital said June 9.