In New Zealand, are we adequately valuing our healthcare providers’ time and expertise?
Returning time to care is a concept which emphasises the critical need for healthcare providers to allocate more time to direct patient care amidst escalating administrative burdens. This reduction in hands-on care negatively affects patient satisfaction, outcomes, and can precipitate healthcare worker burnout. By embracing a holistic approach that incorporates technological integration, educational initiatives, and process optimisation, healthcare professionals are hoping to reclaim time for patient interactions and care, highlighting the concept's significance.
The Royal College of New Zealand Practitioners' "Your Work Counts" project aims to delineate task time allocation and address unacknowledged, often unpaid, work by GPs. Preliminary data suggest clinical contact occupies most time, followed by paperwork and administrative tasks at 30.8%. Highlighting the need for support and resources to manage non-contact clinical work efficiently, the report underlines the potential of reducing burnout, retaining healthcare professionals, and attracting new talent. GPs are having to work 20-30 extra hours a week to complete their non-contact clinical and administrative tasks because they cannot afford the time, or financial hit, to complete it during the day when they are seeing patients.
In 2022, an independent study on NHS trusts in England, involving nearly 1,000 healthcare professionals from April to July, found that an average of 13.5 weekly hours is spent on clinical documentation, representing over a third of clinicians' working hours and marking a 25% increase over seven years. Much like New Zealand, a large share of the documentation occurs outside working hours, with healthcare workers, especially consultant doctors, dedicating additional hours weekly to documentation on their own time. Similarly, a 2020 study showed nurses spend only 21% of their time on direct patient care due to administrative tasks.
Accenture and Brookings Institute reports suggest AI and automation could alleviate the global nursing shortage and improve efficiency by handling many administrative duties, freeing up time for patient care. A 2020 Nuance survey indicated that 85% of NHS workers view documentation as a significant burnout factor. A 2021 HIMSS survey reported that more than half (52%) of clinicians surveyed believe that AI can improve diagnosis, while 32% think it can enhance procedural accuracy, and 31% noted that it can increase their time with patients.
The research compellingly indicates a fundamental shift in the paradigm of healthcare service delivery.
What are we waiting for?