In this episode of the MGMA Insights Podcast, host Daniel Williams, Senior Editor at MGMA, speaks with Michael Tutty, PhD, MHA, FACMPE, Group Vice President at the American Medical Association (AMA). Tutty leads the AMA’s efforts in improving professional satisfaction and practice sustainability for clinicians across the country. Together, they explore critical issues impacting clinician well-being, including burnout, administrative burdens, and the importance of curiosity as a superpower for finding solutions. This conversation provides practical insights for medical practice leaders on how to tackle these issues and create a healthier work environment for their teams.

Key Takeaways:

• The Challenge of Clinician Burnout: Over 50% of physicians report signs of burnout, driven by administrative burdens, increased workload, and a lack of time spent on patient care. Tutty emphasizes the importance of addressing system-wide issues that lead to burnout, rather than placing the burden solely on individuals.
• "Burnout manifests in the individual, but it originates as a systems issue."
• The Cumulative Burden of Administrative Tasks: Clinicians face a rising volume of electronic health record (EHR) management and patient messages, especially post-COVID. The influx of patient inquiries through portals has increased workload by over 150%, taking time away from direct patient care.
• System-Level Solutions Over Individual Resilience: While mindfulness and resilience training are valuable, Tutty advocates for a focus on fixing systemic issues within the healthcare environment. The AMA is working on providing tools and resources that empower healthcare organizations to reduce administrative burdens.
• Curiosity as a Problem-Solving Tool: Tutty encourages medical leaders to adopt a mindset of curiosity to find solutions. This approach can turn feelings of helplessness into opportunities for improvement. He shares an example of how asking questions about a seemingly small administrative task led to a more efficient process using digital tools.
• "Be curious, not judgmental... When you're curious, you can start to find solutions and fixes."
• Data-Driven Insights: Tutty presents recent AMA research highlighting the drivers of burnout, including EHR time, imposter syndrome, and mistreatment by patients and families. He also emphasizes the potential for internal improvements within healthcare organizations, based on a study showing that 75% of the problems reported could be addressed internally.

Resources:

• Michael Tutty at AMA
• American Medical Association 
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