Physician Productivity vs. Patient Satisfaction
antes is hopeless in a practice though. Improving
physician productivity may be a time-intensive
practice, but it doesn’t have to come at the expense
of improving patient satisfaction. At least, that’s
what the Health Partners Inc. study shows. In a
nutshell, the organization plotted studied
physicians into quadrants on a scattergram. Strong
performers in the quadrant of “productivity” were
plotted into one area, while strong performers in
“patient satisfaction” were plotted into another,
while those who carted weak in both areas were
plotted accordingly.
The study found many physicians who excelled in
both areas simultaneously and, through further
investigation, found that different levels of success on
their chart came as the result of different in-office
characteristics.
Strong Productivity and Strong
Patient Satisfaction Skills
The HealthPartners Inc. study found, among other
things, that those physicians who scored high in both
areas had a general “personable” relationship with
their patients. These physicians were adept at
conveying warmth from the beginning of a visit and
could deliver cogent information clearly and in a
controlled manner. These physicians also put a high
premium on “teaching” their patients, giving them
adequate time to ask questions while ensuring that
their own explanations were understood. They proved
able to recap a patient’s history and could generally be
heard beginning statements with “I read your chart…”
so as to establish common ground and understanding
with their patients. These physicians were described
as “confident, but not arrogant,” they finished their
dictation and coding each day and had clinical staff to
enter orders and prepare an after-visit summary
where applicable.
Those who scored low in both areas were
described with a lack of “being there” emotionally, no
smiling, and acting abruptly. They didn’t greet
patients with handshakes (when culturally
appropriate), they made no attempt to match the
patient’s energy during the visit, they kept patients
waiting and wondering and while trying to get a
diagnosis, they created a sense of “interrogation.”
Not Mutually Exclusive
On the surface, what made high performing
physicians chart well with patient satisfaction, is that
10
Physicians Office Resource
they put more of a personal energy into each visit.
Perhaps this seems problematic to many physicians
who hold true to apprehensions like “I can only
achieve strong productivity or strong patient
satisfaction - I can’t do both” or “If I had more time to
spend with my patients, I would have greater patient
satisfaction.” Furthermore, it may seemingly violate
the idea that physician productivity and patient
satisfaction can't be achieved in tandem, that only by
cutting into productivity (i.e. longer patient visits) can
they see an upswing in patient satisfaction.
However, the subtext of the study indicates that
when patients feel comfortable and that their needs
are being addressed with care, they are more apt to
report high levels of satisfaction. When they
understand what is being said to them, and can see a
physician who is not rushing through a diagnosis and
an explanation, but who is taking time to go through
and address concerns bit by bit, on an emotionally
available level, they leave the office feeling empowered
and willing to comply. When patients can see that,
amidst a busy schedule, a physician is able to address
them personably and with warmth, they feel at ease.
They speak more fluidly and more easily, they share
their own medical histories more willingly, and
ultimately, the process is made more streamlined, and
ultimately? They're more willing to comply.
Physician productivity isn’t strictly related to
the number of patients they see every day, but is
also a function of the thoroughness with which
they provide healthcare. Perhaps breaking out of a
routine and implementing a few new measures in
each visit will take some time, and may initially cut
down on the number of patients they can see each
day. It goes without saying that there will always be
days in which things don’t go according to plan.
However, by putting a little bit more into each
patient visit, just a few minutes more, what a
physician might lose in time, they’ll more than
make up for in healthy patients, high satisfaction
scores and a clear and honest physician/patient
relationship with more instances of healthy and
complying patients. These all result in higher long
term productivity yields in the big picture, as fewer
patients will need to come back for noncompliance issues. Productivity and patient
satisfaction come together in this equation, as they
provide the highest and most efficient level of
thorough and personalized healthcare coupled with
the best patient experience possible.