Physicians require a learning & development strategy that is separate and distinct from all othe

Physicians consist of a small percentage of the total employee population, but receive or direct 87% of all personal spending on healthcare[1]. Healthcare is facing clinical, administrative and financial change at a never before seen pace, leaving physicians “anxious about the present, and uncertain about the future”[2].

The 2016 Survey of America’s Physicians, conducted by the Physician Foundation, including responses from 17,236 physicians provides some important insights[2]:

•80% are at capacity or overextended

•54% rate their morale as somewhat or very negative

•37% describe their feelings about the future of the medical profession as positive

•49% often or always experience feelings of burn-out

•21% of their time is spent on non-clinical paperwork

•Only 14% of physicians have the time they need to provide the highest standards of care

Leveraging audit, comparative and predictive analytics, performance, and billing data

Healthcare organizations often operate in silos, generating significant amounts of physician specific data that remain isolated. Bridging these silos for the purpose of learning and development requires a unique skillset to interpret and and integrate.

One of the greatest opportunities today, is to leverage this data to account for physician-to-physician variability in both needs and on-the-job performance, in order to ultimately maximize the cumulative impact for the organization while keeping learners engaged through a personalized experience specific to their needs.

Diverse learning ecosystem technology

The latest technologies offer new opportunities to support informal and experiential learning, where employees learn most, yet only 2% of organizations feel highly effective at measuring this type of learning5.

This is another great opportunity requiring specific expertise, and a separate and distinct strategy for physicians to leverage data for targeting and personalization, while maximizing engagement (i.e. badges learners earn over time aren’t as effective for physicians).

REFERENCES

[1] https://www.bu.edu/sph/files/2015/05/Health-Costs-Absorb-One-quarter-of-GDP-growth-Release-ch%E2%80%A6.pdf

[2] http://www.physiciansfoundation.org/healthcare-research/physician-survey