Survey IDs factors influencing physician job satisfaction

(HealthDay)—Believing that they are delivering high-quality patient care is key to physician job satisfaction, according to an article published Dec. 10 in Medical Economics.

The RAND Corporation, on behalf of the American Medical Association, used both surveys and interviews to collect data from 30 physician practices in six states. The data gleaned were used to identify factors that increase physicians' dissatisfaction with their jobs.

Among these factors were the pressure to see a greater number of patients, which frustrated physicians, especially those in primary care. Adoption of electronic health records (EHRs) also contributed to physician dissatisfaction, the survey found, due to poor usability, time-consuming data entry, interference with face-to-face patient care, and inability to exchange health information. While, generally, physicians were satisfied with their income levels, they reported that income stability was very important to achieving high satisfaction.

"Physicians approved of EHRs in concept and appreciated having better ability to remotely access patient information and improvements in quality of care," according to the Medical Economics article. "However, for many physicians, the current state of EHR technology significantly worsened professional satisfaction in multiple ways."