Healthcare professionals nationwide are feeling the strain of nearly two years of nonstop COVID concerns.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Dr. John Zelem, a former general surgeon, is the founder and CEO of Streamline Solutions Consulting, Inc., and a regular panelist on the ICD10monitor Internet broadcast Talk Ten Tuesdays. His essay is from his book, “The Process of becoming Successful, Develop the Passion to Win.”
We have been hearing so much in the media lately about the daily challenges physicians and nurses and other healthcare workers are experiencing. This is leading to something called “burnout,” and many leaving the healthcare professions entirely.
The COVID-19 pandemic has been said to be a major factor, and has certainly played a major role. This trend is not just occurring with new professionals, but even those who are seasoned and experienced. These are individuals who initially joined the profession with excitement and enthusiasm. They have spent many long months getting the education needed to do so, but the pressures have been overwhelming, including the immensity and intensity of the pandemic, and the related frustration in dealing with a disease that seems to be “winning” and its collateral consequences.
Allow me a moment to put this into perspective, and develop what I call a “four season analogy.” This analogy involves farming, but it is a concept that can apply to many areas of life, and even healthcare, in this presentation. I know we are all familiar with the four actual seasons, as we experience them on an annual basis to varying degrees, depending on where we live. Despite geographical differences, though, there are still always four seasons.
Starting the cycle with winter, making a decision to enter the healthcare profession is very much like this season, as it is an “intuitive” season: a time for decision-making and planning. It is cold, and not much physically gets accomplished, but it is a time of thinking and planning. Take the farmer who is getting ready for the next planting. They may get the seeds and the fertilizer ready, and plan where the crops will go. In our winter season, we also do our planning, get our thoughts in order, maybe set some goals, and make the decision to get projects started.
Spring is the actual “get started” season, wherein professionals have completed their education, found a job, and embarked on their career. This is where one is right out of the gate with great enthusiasm and energy. The farmer would be preparing the soil, planting the seeds, making the rows straight, and fertilizing and watering the early crop. In both situations, great amounts of energy are being expended, with excitement. Initial challenges are handled with relative ease.
Summer is the “hitting your wall” or “life happens” season. In this situation, it may be the pandemic. This is the season when the challenges start to become more daunting, and maybe even increase in number. We haven’t seen a lot of results yet, and begin to wonder if what we are doing is really working. The farmer may see a drought, or too much rain. The crop may be poor, or it may be overtaken by pests and animals. Your own summer may find you ultra-busy, struggling with family problems or financial strain, fatigue, or burnout. Yet the farmer doesn’t give up on his crop. Should you give up on what you are trying to achieve? It’s tough to be objective under this sort of pressure, and unfortunately, this is the season where the most people quit. They let the weeds of their lives overtake the harvest, even though it is just around the corner. They may not have the drive and resolve to dig deep down and continue plodding along to get to fall: the harvest season. Those who quit will never know how close they were to their harvest. This is where many healthcare professionals may find themselves now.
Yes, fall is the “harvest” season. This is when, if you’ve made it through summer, you can begin to reap the rewards, achieve the satisfaction, and look at the people you saved – not the ones you couldn’t. For the farmer, the crop comes in and goes to market – and it usually is profitable. For others, perhaps they finally get that promotion they’ve been working for, or a big breakthrough, if self-employed. The farmer, the professionals, have successfully weathered some of the toughest challenges and are beginning to receive the satisfaction of achieving positive results. This is not the end, though. As mentioned before, you cannot stay here; you need to reset your goals. You will either go forward or slide backward, because another year of the four seasons will approach.
What season are you in? Are you ready for another cycle? We hope you are, because healthcare workers are our heroes, and not all heroes wear capes. We need you!
Programming Note: Listen to Dr. Zelem every Tuesday on Talk Ten Tuesdays, 10 Eastern.
The term “stopgap” is defined as “a temporary way of dealing with a problem, and something used as an emergency measure until something better can
Readers last week surely noted my coverage of a few of the key regulatory initiatives the Biden Administration intends to undertake during the last part
Please log in to your account to comment on this article.
Join Beth Wolf, MD, CPC, CCDS, for an in-depth webcast on the FY2025 spinal fusion MS-DRG updates. Discover key changes in DRG classification, understand impacts on documentation and CMI, and learn strategies to ensure compliance.
Join Angela Comfort, DBA, MBA, RHIA, CDIP, CCS, CCS-P, as she presents effective strategies to strengthen collaboration between CDI, coding, and quality departments in acute care hospitals. Angela will also share guidance on implementing cross-departmental meetings, using shared KPIs, and engaging leadership to foster a culture of collaboration. Attendees will gain actionable tools to optimize documentation accuracy, elevate quality metrics, and drive a unified approach to healthcare goals, ultimately enhancing both patient outcomes and organizational performance.
Optimize your outpatient clinical documentation and gain comprehensive knowledge from foundational practices to advanced technologies, ensuring improved patient care and organizational and financial success. This webcast bundle provides a holistic approach to outpatient CDI, empowering you to implement best practices from the ground up and leverage advanced strategies for superior results. You will gain actionable insights to improve documentation quality, patient care, compliance, and financial outcomes.
Enhancing outpatient clinical documentation is crucial for maintaining accuracy, compliance, and proper reimbursement in today’s complex healthcare environment. This webcast, presented by industry expert Angela Comfort, DBA, RHIA, CDIP, CCS, CCS-P, will provide you with actionable strategies to tackle complex challenges in outpatient documentation. You’ll learn how to craft detailed clinical narratives, utilize advanced EHR features, and implement accurate risk adjustment and HCC coding. The session also covers essential regulatory updates to keep your documentation practices compliant. Join us to gain the tools you need to improve documentation quality, support better patient care, and ensure financial integrity.
Dr. Ronald Hirsch provides critical details on the new Medicare Appeal Process for Status Changes for patients whose status changes during their hospital stay. He also delves into other scenarios of hospital patients receiving custodial care or medically unnecessary services where patient notifications may be needed along with the processes necessary to ensure compliance with state and federal guidance.
Healthcare organizations face complex regulatory requirements under the No Surprises Act and Price Transparency rules. These policies mandate extensive fee disclosures across settings, and confusion is widespread—many hospitals remain unaware they must post every contracted rate. Non-compliance could lead to costly penalties, financial loss, and legal risks. Join David M. Glaser Esq. as he shows you how to navigate these regulations effectively.
Protect your facility from unwanted audits! Join Becky Jacobsen, BSN, RN, MBS, CCS-P, CPC, CPEDC, CBCS, CEMC, and take a deep dive into both the CMS and AMA guidelines for reporting post operative pain blocks. You’ll learn how to determine if the nerve block is separately codable with real life examples for better understanding. Becky will also cover how to evaluate whether documentation supports medical necessity, offer recommendations for stronger documentation practices, and provide guidance on educating providers about documentation requirements. She’ll include a discussion of appropriate modifier and diagnosis coding assignment so that you can be confident that your billing of post operative pain blocks is fully supported and compliant.
During this RACmonitor webcast Dr. Ronald Hirsch spotlights the areas of the OIG’s Work Plan and the findings of their most recent audits that impact utilization review, case management, and audit staff. He also provides his common-sense interpretation of the prevailing regulations related to those target issues. You’ll walk away better equipped with strategies to put in place immediately to reduce your risk of paybacks, increased scrutiny, and criminal penalties.
Copyright © 2024 RACmonitor. Powered by MedLearn Media.
Happy National Doctor’s Day! Learn how to get a complimentary webcast on ‘Decoding Social Admissions’ as a token of our heartfelt appreciation! Click here to learn more →
CYBER WEEK IS HERE! Don’t miss your chance to get 20% off now until Dec. 2 with code CYBER24
