A-22: A Playbook for Saving Hours Each Day

Almost half of a physician's day is spent performing tasks that do not require an MD/DO degree. Addressing burnout, well-being, inefficiencies, and cultural change require TIME. Physicians are all too familiar with the additional tasks piled on them since adopting EHR systems. The urgency to find time to address meaningful and more structured interventions has been magnified by the impact of the COVID pandemic on the health care workforce. Given current labor shortages, the focus must be on removing unnecessary work in order to get back to ‘doctoring.’ Seventy-eight percent of unnecessary tasks are under your local control. The AMA STEPS Forward® team has developed a Saving Time Playbook to guide physicians to identify these unnecessary tasks, stop the overinterpretation of regulations, and implement efficient workflows. The playbook highlights STEPS Forward toolkits, the AMA De-implementation Checklist, and the Debunking Regulatory Myths series. The purpose of this workshop is to:

• Stop doing unnecessary tasks and duplicative work that prevent the physician from meaningful work.

• Incorporate practice fundamentals such as pre-visit planning and lab testing, team documentation, and expanded rooming and discharge efforts.

• Make the case to leadership by demonstrating the ROI (return on investment) with better outcomes, lower cost of recruiting/replacing staff, improved physician well-being, and increased patient access and satisfaction.