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.

An article in Family Practice management this month provides us with what feels like a blueprint for the future of primary care in the USA

Here is the reference: https://www.aafp.org/pubs/fpm/issues/2024/0700/addressing-social-needs.html

You will notice that the article is about a primary care practice model that addresses the Social Determinants of Health [SDOH].

The last paragraph in the article hints at the true value of this business model. The heading reads:
THE OPPOSITE OF BURNOUT

Working in this new, hybrid system allows the doctors to reclaim their primary role in patient care and reconnect with meaning and purpose in their practice of Medicine.

Note writing AI will provide massive short-term relief to stressed-out physicians.

This technology can disconnect the detail and quality of your notes from your personal data entry skills. It will get you home sooner and eliminate pajama time.

Unfortunately, after a short break from the stress of documentation, things will only get worse.

After the A.I. implementation, your employer will make an inevitable change to your work flow that will change burnout forever. 

Stop Physician Suicide Part 3:

Coaching a Suicidal Physician Client [CME]

[Part 1 - The first-person experience of Suicidal Ideation - is here]
[Part 2 - Reaching out to a suicidal physician colleague - is here ]

Unfortunately, we cannot stop all physician suicides for two simple reasons.

• Doctors are too good at hiding their struggle and distress. Our "never show weakness" programming is so very strong.
  
  
• We know the anatomy and physiology, so doctors are very good at themselves.
  
  

What we can do is reach out to any of our colleagues who appear to be struggling.  

In this podcast/post, you will learn:

~ How to recognize the signs and symptoms of burnout and suicidal ideation

~ A proven method to reach out to that friend/colleague, simply and effectively 

The end result is lives will be saved that would be lost without your caring and outreach.

These six blog posts will give you a new frame of reference for the predicament of the employee physician in today's chaotic healthcare industry.

You'll be able to orient yourself to how and why things got this bad and what you can do take back your practice 

I will show you multiple ways to take back your autonomy and build a more ideal job - with enough wiggle room for you to enjoy a fulfilling practice.

FIRST: here is my personal invitation for you to come in from the cold.

Get the Tools and Support to Take Back Your Practice NOW
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Today and every day in the USA, over 50% of American Physicians are suffering from at least one symptom of burnout.

What word would you use to describe this situation to someone who doesn't work in healthcare?

Sad <> Tragic <> Criminal <> Crazy <> Unfortunate??

How about this ... ABSURD.

How can you take an entire generation of the best and brightest and grind half of them down to the point where their performance is impaired and their lives at risk - every single day - and carry on as if this is normal.

There's only one conclusion we can make ...

There must be something toxic - in some cases, deadly - about the current practice of medicine for physicians. 

It's as if each of us is a coal miner and your employer refuses to give you a respirator, then blames you for your black lung disease - or a construction worker without a hard hat - or a policeman without a bulletproof vest.

This blog post let me teach you a two-part strategy to TAKE YOUR PRACTICE BACK.

A proven path back to a practice you enjoy, one that will keep you happy and smiling about your decision to become a physician in the first place.

I have a confession to make.

14 years ago I launched my physician coaching website here at TheHappyMD.com. Since that time I've devoted every hour of my professional life to helping my fellow Lightworkers avoid my fate.

FULL DISCLOSURE:
I crashed and burned out of my family practice at the age of 40 and wandered in the wilderness for a decade before becoming certified as a coach and finding this path back to being a helper and healer to my physician brothers and sisters. 40,000 doctors later, its time to let you know a key to our success.

In all of my work as a physician coach, we really don't focus much at all on physician burnout.

We spend as little time as possible on burnout before we put it to its highest and best use.

Most people believe that your medical education sets you up to be a successful practicing physician.

Unfortunately that is not true.

Today's 63% physician burnout rate should give us some clue, that our traditional medical education does not guarantee a successful practicing physician.

Investing your 20's to complete the slog through medical school, residency and fellowship does produce two consistent outcomes.

1) You learn the bare minimum to practice in your specialty. I say bare minimum because no one graduates from the education process completely capable of practicing independently - especially with the work hour restrictions of today's residency programs. The breadth of the knowledge base in any specialty is so large now and yet the number of available teaching hours within residency programs has been cut by 1/3 compared to residencies before work hour restrictions were put in place.

2) You are also taught - and subconsciously conditioned - to be a good resident.

The complete medical education process takes from 7 to 16 years. At the end of that marathon, everyone who survives is programmed to be a great resident.

• Fortunately for the industrial practice of medicine, great residents make compliant employees.
  
  
• Unfortunately for the graduating physician, the same conditioning sets us up for burnout in the first place - especially since 73% of physicians become employees these days.

Residency is not about success in your future practice.

The key to building a more Ideal Practice is a clear target for your efforts.

Think of it as a Bullseye in an archery range where you aim yourself at the heart of a new and better on-the-job reality.

In this short physician video training lesson, let me show you a two-step process to get crystal clear on your Ideal Practice "target" and take the steps to build a better Job, Practice and Career.

Along the way I will show you how to completely eliminate any fear of failure.

Stop Physician Burnout: 3 Things Men Must Stop Doing to Decrease Unconscious Gender Bias in the Healthcare Workplace

Two surveys in the last three years show a remarkable transformation of the US physician population. 

• In 2019 the majority of US medical students are women for the first time. (1)
• Athena health surveyed 3500 of their client practices in 2017 and found 60% of physicians 35 or younger are women. (2)
  
• In 2022 53.8% of medical students are women (3)

With this gender shift in full swing, you would think unconscious gender bias against women would be rolling towards extinction ... right? Not so in my experience (and yours too I suspect).