The Hidden Side of Healthcare Delivery: Desktop Medicine Now Equals Face-to-Face Care

I recently came across a fascinating study from Health Affairs that offers a data-driven look at how physicians spend their time in modern healthcare practice.

Key findings from this groundbreaking study:

📊 Primary care physicians split their time almost evenly between face-to-face patient visits (3.08 hours/day) and "desktop medicine" (3.17 hours/day)

💻 Desktop medicine includes activities such as:

Responding to patient portal messages

Reviewing test results

Processing prescription refills

Care coordination through secure messaging

📝 34% of physicians logged time was spent creating progress notes alone (This is an area where Whadata Med is currently focused on improving)

📱 Time allocation is shifting over time, with face-to-face visits declining and desktop medicine increasing

The researchers analyzed over 31 million EHR transactions from 471 primary care physicians between 2011-2014, providing unprecedented insight into the modern physician workday.

Why this matters:

Current payment models primarily reimburse face-to-face visits, overlooking half of physicians' actual work

Staffing and scheduling in medical practices need to account for desktop medicine

This data supports newer payment models that recognize care delivered outside traditional office visits

For healthcare leaders, this research validates the need to rethink how we structure physician work, schedule patient care, and design reimbursement systems.

Check the study for more details
https://lnkd.in/gSuWVTeq

Looking to lighten the load of desktop medicine? Visit us at Whadata Med, we can help.
https://lnkd.in/g8d-NQEn

What's your experience with desktop medicine vs. face-to-face care? Has your organization found effective ways to balance these demands?