An Evolving Case Study in the Process of Policy-Driven Change in Healthcare with Tina Shah
Below is an excerpt of the full interview conducted with Tina Shah. Download the PDF now for the full article.
Key Takeaways
The First Step – Defining an Issue & Building Awareness
Effective value-based care draws upon specialized programs and a full team approach versus solely upon a MD-centric model. Achieving contract measures is not just an ask of the MD, it’s an ask of the office team.
- Health worker burnout” is gaining focus as a national issue
- Burnout stems from a web of root cause variables
- Clinical documentation administrative burden
- Benchmarking and reporting requirements
- Value-based care requirements
- Cybersecurity & technology demands
- Risk management
- Process rigidity and lack of creativity
- Suboptimal staffing levels and / or ratios
- Provider training & education
- Reimbursement incentives
- Poor manager-clinician relationships
- Without a detailed study, the government is typically unable to rally around any issue.
- Prior precedent: A report on growing complexity in healthcare coding and administration was followed by new laws issued from Congress that led to the first revision/ simplification of ambulatory E&M codes since 1992
Early Signs of Pending Change & A Prediction of What to Expect
- This is the first time in history that the federal government has dispersed funds to address the issue of physician and other health worker burnout - over $100 million was dispersed to 44 institutions.
- We now have a government blueprint with clear recommendations to alleviate this issue, which will lead to many changes taking place across our industry over the next decade.
- I learned to have patience and play the long game.
Structural Precedents for Defining Goals for Addressing Provider Burnout
- The Clinton Administration resulted in issuing an executive order, the Patient’s Bill of Rights which set patient safety standards across health systems. We are looking for something similar for Clinicians.
- To me, it’s about cognitive load reduction and looking outside US healthcare, the best example is how the airline industry works. Cockpits and pilot labor safeguards have been redesigned so that the pilot is protected and can focus on the task at hand without getting distracted.
We now have a government blueprint with clear recommendations to alleviate burnout in the clinical workforce, which will lead to many changes taking place across our industry over the next decade.
