Physician Well-Being: Improving Office Efficiency

Abstract

Improving office efficiency can contribute to physician well-being by increasing the amount of time physicians spend with patients while decreasing the amount of time spent on administrative and regulatory requirements. Delegation of administrative tasks (such as those involving electronic health records [EHRs]) to scribes and prior authorization duties to staff members improves job satisfaction. Customization of EHR templates can expedite workflow and improve quality of care. Optimization of drug prescribing can reduce the number of refill requests needed and decrease workload. Reducing rates of missed appointments, creating a system to address late arrivals, and offering a variety of visit lengths and types reduce staff overtime while improving patient outcomes. Use of team huddles improves consistency and communication. The presence of on-site mental health and pharmacy services has been shown to improve physician satisfaction with treatment access and coordination of care.