In this final episode of 2024, let’s take a look ahead into 2025 and explore 10 system-level challenges that will impact the U.S. healthcare industry—and each of us as physician leaders. These challenges will likely affect your healthcare system, your teams, and your ability to lead effectively in the coming year.

This is a high-level overview to help you anticipate and prepare for these headwinds. Consider it a roadmap to keep you alert to the early signs of these challenges so you’re ready to respond.

What’s Ahead in 2025?

Recently, Becker’s Hospital Review published an article titled “10 Headwinds for Healthcare Systems in 2025”. I thought it was a solid summary, and I know these issues will directly impact physician leaders, healthcare organizations, and staff. Here are the 10 key challenges:

Have you ever been in a serious leadership conversation when, suddenly, the hair on the back of your neck stood up, and you felt things going off the rails? That surge of frustration, anger, or even fury is unmistakable. You know something is wrong, and if you're not careful, those emotions might lead you to say or do something that damages your leadership credibility.

In today's episode, I’m going to show you:

1. The specific topics that trigger these intense emotions for physician leaders.
2. What to say and what not to say to guide the conversation back to a balanced resolution.
3. How to recognize and manage your emotions so you can maintain your influence and leadership effectiveness.

Let’s get started.

This is a transcript of Stop Physician Burnout PODCAST # 123

In America, it’s been two weeks since Luigi Mangione was arrested for the murder of Brian Thompson, CEO of a major U.S. health insurance company. The public reaction to this murder and arrest has made it abundantly clear that the American people understand the hypocrisy at the heart of healthcare.

This has direct implications for you, as a leader in the healthcare industry. In this episode, you'll learn how to stay on the right side of ethics and karma. You’ll discover how to be seen as a good leader, a shining light amidst the dysfunction of U.S. healthcare.

The Business Case for Investing in Physician Wellbeing - a Triple Competitive Advantage for Your Organization

In this blog post let's look at what happens when you run physician burnout in reverse. Here's what I mean.

Join us to lead the movement away from today's short staffing, overwhelm and hypocrisy to a true Health Care System that makes sense - while there is still time.

Let me show you how to become a four-tool physician leader - and play a bigger role in building the future of healthcare.
Listen or Watch - only 7:54

Stop Physician Burnout Podcast #106
Mastering Physician Leadership - Become a 4 -Tool Leader to join the best of the best.

The promise of AI scribes sounds like a dream come true and it will be, just not for long

We are in the early adoption phase at the peak of the hype cycle. The vision of having your computer write the note for you with faster workflows, and more time for patient care is soooo enticing.

But as with any game-changing technology, there’s a catch: it’s a double-edged sword. The leading edge cuts your daily workload magnificently, but the trailing edge—the industry’s inevitable response to your increased productivity—is a clear and obvious danger to physicians in ways we can’t yet imagine.

IN THIS BLOG POST:

• How the virtual scribe programs are trained and how they will change your work flow.
• Why they might save you up to 50% of the time you now spend on visit notes.
• How the industry will respond to this increase in productivity.
• And why I fear for a future that holds deeper and darker sources of burnout than just the exhaustion of documentation.

Last week I sent a survey to the Physician Leaders on our mailing list, asking personal questions about your values, goals, stresses and satisfaction with your leadership role.

Here are the responses of 22 who responded - offering us a first-person perspective on what it's like to be a physician leader in these challenging times.

WHAT DID THEY SAY?
Click on any question below to be taken to the collectivecresponses for that question:

GIVE US YOUR RESPONSES:
Here's the link to answer the survey questions for yourself:

 

>> Uplevel Your Skills and Influence as a Physician Leader <<
Learn how to build true influence in the C-suite
How to avoid the Darth Vader comparisons from your colleagues
Stop the overwhelm and lead with power and precision
Use THIS LINK for a quick Discovery Connection

Physician Leadership:
A Simple Communication Tool to Avoid the Disruptive Doctor Label (video training)

If you invite physicians into your management or leadership meetings, we will diagnose the problems in the system of care with the same speed and skill we diagnose disease in our patients.

Sooner or later we will also run into any number of situations that qualify as hypocrisy: where the organization says one thing and does something completely different.

Nothing in this world upsets a physician more than hypocrisy. 

We see it right away, like a flashing red light. It drives us to shout, thump tables, foam at the lips and more. This undisciplined behavior results in many doctors being labeled a "disruptive physician" and their completely legitimate concerns downplayed or ignored by the other senior leaders at the table. This outright dismissal of legitimate concerns can be a major cause of physician burnout for some doctors.

Here is a Simple Communication Tool to Completely Avoid Being Labeled Disruptive and get your concerns addressed.

For true servant leaders,
TRUST comes before all else.
Any action you take
or word you speak or write
that destroys Trust
destroys your people's willingness to be lead by you.