Team-based ordering in ambulatory care: trends and impact
Collaborative ordering workflows constitute a potential area for administrative burden alleviation for physicians, with the potential to reduce burnout and increase both work satisfaction and productivity. We use nationally representative data capturing nearly 250,000 ambulatory physicians observed over three years to evaluate whether higher rates of teamwork for ordering are associated with time savings in the EHR and productivity. We find clinically significant ordering time savings (20-30% reduction) as well as substantial spillover effects and productivity gains.
Learning Objectives
- Understand national rates of team-based ordering (i.e., non-physician pending of orders for physician sign-off) in ambulatory settings and changes that follow after physicians newly adopt team-based ordering workflows.
Speaker
- Nate Apathy, PhD (University of Maryland)
Identifying trajectories of clinician engagement with the EHR among inpatient hospitalizations
This study used Electronic Health Record (EHR) audit logs, admission data, and patient characteristics to measure clinician engagement with the EHR during inpatient medicine hospitalization. Group-based trajectory modeling was used to identify encounters with similar trajectories of clinician engagement. Six distinct groups were identified, with statistically significant differences in demographic (sex, age, race, insurance) and clinical (length of stay, admission location, nurse and doctor actions per day) characteristics between groups.
Learning Objectives
- Apply hospitalization-level EHR audit logs to use cases relevant to their own research or clinical settings
Speaker
- Daphne Lew, PhD, MPH (Washington University in St. Louis)
Characterizing Primary Care Physicians’ Work Effort and Its Determinants
This cross-sectional study describes the estimated yearly work effort required per patient on a PCP’s panel, how work effort varies by clinical FTE (cFTE), and the patient characteristics influencing differential time expenditure. We identified factors such as medical comorbidities, acute care utilization, and panel composition that affect PCP workload. This knowledge will help inform decisions on panel management, workforce sustainability, and risk-adjustment strategies in primary care settings."
Speaker
- Lisa Rotenstein, MD, MBA, MSc (UCSF)