Physicians' Top Complaints of 2013

Physicians have a lot of concerns on their minds right now, and even as new issues popped up in 2013, some of the previous year’s problems still haven't been addressed fully, according to an industry expert.

In an interview with Becker’s Hospital Review, Rochelle Pierce, vice president of physician relationship management with Aegis Health Group, laid out the top physician complaints of the year. According to Pierce, no matter the market size they were based in, physicians all had similar issues, criticisms and concerns in 2013. Unfortunately, some of these built on top of 2012’s complaints.

The top complaint from physicians was uncertainty about the future, mostly since physician’s are still unsure how the Affordable Care Act will impact them and their practice. Last year this concern wasn’t in the top 10, but implementation was definite this year, making it a larger concern.

Last year’s reigning champion was financial concerns, which slips to second. However, this issue ties in very closely to uncertainty about the future, according to Pierce.

"Physicians feel they are working harder now to make what they were making 10 years ago," Pierce told Becker’s.

And while they might be working harder, physicians have complained that it’s actually harder to care for patients because they are kept busy meeting regulatory requirements. They are frustrated that they are spending less time on work directly related to patients.

In fact, physicians are also expected to take more leadership roles because of care delivery models like patient-centered medical homes and team-based care. Unfortunately, few have been trained to actually take on those roles and be successful.

And a continuous concern among physicians is maintaining work-life balance. Now with new responsibilities, physicians are finding this an even bigger issue.

“It will be a constant struggle for physicians to maintain work-life balance,” Pierce told Becker’s.

See the full top 10 here.