3 Serious Challenges U.S. Medical Doctors are Facing
Today I was doing some research on the state of medical doctors and I found an interesting report on the challenges that doctors are facing today.
A 10-nation survey by the Commonwealth Fund, which promotes a high-performing health care system found that almost 25% of the U.S. primary care doctors admit to being unprepared to care for patients with multiple chronic illnesses. This is a huge problem with almost half of all adult citizens of the U.S. -117 million people having one or more chronic illnesses. This accounts for 86% of the costs for medical care in the U.S. according to the CDC.
2. Managing mental illness.
The same survey reported that 84% of the primary care doctors in the U.S. felt that they were ill-prepared to manage patients with serious mental illness. Given that 25% of the adults in the U.S. equalling 10 million people where daily activities are interfered with, this is another major issue as reported by the National Institute of Health. Fighting any disease is reliant on the patient’s mental state. If a patient is experiencing anxiety or depression the patient is more vulnerable to damaging stimuli interfering with the healing process.
3. Improving communication with patients and other providers.
Here is a staggering statistic that does not bode well for the healthcare system in the U.S. Only 30% of doctors are notified when a patient is seen in the emergency room or discharged from the hospital according to the Commonwealth Fund. Patients get frustrated and confused with this lack of communication and can lead to readmissions to the hospital causing not only an increase in cost, but a gap in services provided to the patient. With the Affordable Care Act, readmissions can lead to financial penalties.
If you are a doctor who is feeling that these issues are creating havoc in your life, please join Dr. Daniel Rieders and I in the private group that we created just for you at: “Reclaim Your Practice & Your LIfe” https://www.facebook.com/groups/446088636622065
