Week 8-1 Discussion Post 15 Document

Staffingshortagescanbedisastrousevenatthebestoftimesinallindustries.However,the

ever-growingstaffingshortagesbeingseeninthehealthcareindustryhavebecomeconcerning

foramultitudeofreasons.Firstandforemost,providersandhealthcareworkersarebeing

overworkedandoverwhelmedwiththeirpatientload.Thisleadstoburnout,whichhasresulted

inplentyofhealthcareworkersseekingretirementoremploymentoutsideofthehealthcare

industrybecausetheirlivesaresoincrediblyhecticandtherearemanytimes,especiallyoflate,

wherethereappearstobenoendinsightintermsofworkthatneedstobedone.Thisthen

furthercontributestotheemployeeshortagesweareseeing,throughouthealthcare,including

schoolswhichwould,ideally,infusetheindustrywithnewblood.Second,therearenoreal

shortagesintermsofpatientpopulation.HereatFortBenning,everysingledayIseesomeone

requestinga“better”providerbecausetheydon’tcareforthepersontheyhavebeenassigned

to,askingwhothebestpediatricianisthatistakingnewpatients,orifthereisadentistavailable

toseeanyonewithinthenextmonthorso.Third,staffingshortagesmakeitincrediblydifficultto

complywithfederalregulationsintermsofhealthcareandhowitisconductedorperformed.

Medicareholdslongstandingregulationsregardingwhattheyconsidertobean

appropriatelengthoftimeforadoctor’sappointmentandwhattheyarewillingtoreimbursea

providerfor.Thisresultedintheadventofthe15-minuteappointment.AsMedicareisregulated

bytheUnitedStatesfederalgovernment,theserequirementsarelawandmustbefollowed

accordingly.AccordingtoPronovost(2016),thetruncatedappointmentsaroseoutofaneedto

increaseproductionstandards,nottoincreaseaccessofcaretoothersorimprovetheoutcomes

ofpatients.Thisallowsmedicineunderdecreasedreimbursementtoremainprofitableand

createsanenvironmentwhereprovidersareabletoseemorepatientsinaday,buttothe

detrimentofallinvolved.Patientsfeelasthoughtheyarerushedthroughtheirappointments,

complaintsgounaddressed,andexperienceadecreasedinqualityand/orsatisfaction(Wellbox,

2016).Providersmustfranticallymovethroughappointments,tryingtofitinaphysicalexam,

reviewrelevantdatafromEHRsorcharts,andworktoensurelabs,prescriptions,andreferrals

areestablishedinatimelymanner,whilestillneedingtoaccuratelychartordocumentthevisit

(Linzeretal.,2015).Thiscreatesalotofpressureforallinvolved,compoundedbystaffing

shortages,whichmakethestruggleevenmoreapparent.Additionally,whenprovidersattemptto

staywithinguidelinesestablishedbyMedicareintermsoftheAnnualWellnessVisit(AWV)all

Medicarerecipientsareentitledto,itseemsnearlyimpossibletosticktoboththeguidelinesand

thetimeframe(MetrocarePhysicians,n.d.).Therefore,patientswilleitherreceivelesscarethan

theyareentitledto,orproviderswillspendmoretimewiththeirpatients,whichtheywouldnot

bereimbursedfor.

References

Annual wellness visit (AWV) practice checklist. MetrocarePhysicians.

(n.d.).http://www.metrocarephysicians.com/images/AWV_VISIT_WORKFLOW_CHECK_LI

ST_with_screens.pdf

Evaluating Medicare’s 15-minute doctor’s visits: Time for a change? Wellbox.(2016,September

16).https://wellbox.care/evaluating-medicares-15-minute-doctors-visits-time-for-a-

change/

Linzer,M.,Bitton,A.,Tu,S.P.,Plews-Ogan,M.,Horowitz,K.R.,Schwartz,M.D.,Poplau,S.,

Paranjape,A.,Landry,M.,Babbott,S.,Collins,T.,Caudill,T.S.,Prasad,A.,Adolphe,A.,

Kern,D.E.,Aung,K.,Bensching,K.,&Fairfield,K.(2015).Theendofthe15-20minute

primarycarevisit.Journal of General Internal Medicine, 30(11),1584-

1586.https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-015-3341-3

Pronovost,P.(2016,April21).The risks of the 15-minute doctor’s appointment. JohnsHopkins

Medicine.https://armstronginstitute.blogs.hopkinsmedicine.org/2016/04/21/the-risks-

of-the-15-minute-doctors-appointment/

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