Changes in the healthcare industry have pushed hospitals to laser focus on patient engagement in the last few years. Physician engagement, however, is often overlooked.
According to a Physicians Wellness Survey only 41.5 percent of physicians say they feel engaged with their organization, and over half of doctors interviewed stated that engagement levels played a serious role in their decisions to stay with or leave a practice.
This is a concerning statistic, since employees are one of the few constants within the healthcare industry. Hospitals rely on doctors, nurses and staff to persevere in times of change to ensure quality of care and patient service are maintained. Yet, industry leaders seem to have decided that physician satisfaction is not a pressing organizational issue.
Gallup Business Journal stated that the reasons for this may be that organizations assume that physicians are motivated solely by their interaction with patients or their research work. While there is a grain of truth to this — doctors reported that they often felt adequately engaged with their work — if practices hope to keep employees at their hospital, they must work to engage them.
Gallup states that there are a few reasons physicians are unable to find satisfaction within their organization. These include the nature of their job, with long hours and demanding schedules, the dual role of doctors as employees and stakeholders and the lack of trust between hospital leaders and employees.
Organizations looking to overcome these challenges must take an active approach to the engagement process. They should focus on factors that increase physician satisfaction, and aim to develop a strong, trusting relationship with doctors.
By partnering with Patient Approved, hospitals can give doctors the opportunity to connect with patients beyond the hospital room and keep them in the loop with the hospital's operational goals. Patient Approved allows healthcare leaders, doctors and patients to view real-time feedback regarding all aspects of a practice.