As a primary care physician at one of the nation’s leading academic medical centers I’m still hanging on.
Over my 32 years, I’ve seen how my ability to interact with patients has been diminished by an ever-encroaching health care system. There’s a clock keeping track of how much time a patient’s chart is open. I have less than 15 minutes on average to assess my patient’s symptoms and discuss treatment options, and I see about 110 patients a week. All in all, I spend about 35 hours seeing patients and another 20 to 30 hours a week on documentation. It’s easy to lose sight of who you are and what you originally trained to become.
When the door closes on a patient visit, it’s a ménage a trois: me, my patient and the ever-intrusive computer. A patient recently asked me if I ever get away from the computer and I had to admit that I don’t. I can’t. Even on vacation when I’m supposed to be taking a break and recharging.
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