Anyone who has tried to find a new primary care provider, or to make an appointment with their existing clinician, knows that there’s a serious shortage of primary care doctors today, and it’s only getting worse. A March 2024 report from the Association of American Medical Colleges found that by 2036, the United States will be short of 86,000 needed physicians. For primary care providers, this means constant stress for them and their office staff.
The shortage of providers is driven by demographics, with over 40% of clinical physicians working today aged 55 and up. Their coming retirement will leave nearly every region of the country without enough doctors.
And the demand for those doctors will only increase, also driven by demographics – both the predicted population growth and the aging population. The US population 65 years and older is projected to grow by one-third by 2036, and those aged 75 years and up will increase by an astounding 55%. Older people need more healthcare and frequent access to general medicine clinicians; the increasing demand will put even more pressure on the healthcare system in the next decade.   Â
Primary care providers, whether in family practice or internal medicine, are on the front lines of healthcare. And a lack of timely access to primary care can result in poor outcomes for patients. Providers must mitigate the staffing shortage while continuing to meet not only patients’ needs for a wide range of services but also their elevated expectations for a consumer-like experience. How can they meet this challenge?
A Digital Strategy for Primary Care
Primary care providers can deploy a digital strategy that enables patients to enter their data and check-in online, integrates data in real time, and lets the practice educate and engage with patients. These digital solutions can simplify the workday for providers and staff, improve the patient experience, and help reduce some of the burden created by staffing shortages. Here are four benefits of a digital strategy:Â
1.  Improve patient care and increase efficiency
Primary care providers can improve their decision-making and enhance patient care when patient’s test results and other data are integrated directly into the EHR in real time. Access to data from medical devices and retrospective electronic health record (EHR) data also enhances patient safety and clinical decision support.
Integration of real-time data into the EHR helps clinicians provide patients with top-quality care. Access to current data enables better clinical decisions and health outcomes while also reducing unnecessary tasks, tests and procedures.
2. Â Â Reduce errors, save time, and enhance care delivery
Paper forms filled out by patients at the primary care office take time and are subject to error. Plus, when staff must enter patient data by hand, that process is also time-consuming and error prone. And manual data entry into software is always prone to error. Patient-generated digital data saves time, reduces errors, and helps providers improve care delivery with easy access to key information about a patient’s health.Â
3.  Decrease waiting room time, alleviate staff burden, and meet patient expectations
The front desk workload in a primary care office is heavy, with constant pressure to check patients in and keep up with insurance verification and payments while dealing with scheduling issues caused by a shortage of providers. One way to streamline the front desk process is digital check-in, which allows patients to register online from home. This enables staff to quickly access completed patient forms and insurance verification and collect necessary payments. The practice workflow can speed up, front-office staff have more time to focus on other work, and clinicians have immediate access to accurate, current medical data.
Digital check-in decreases patient intake time by 20 percent, according to the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS), as well as waiting room time, a key issue for patients. The Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) reports that “patient satisfaction often goes hand in hand with practice efficiency.” Some key benefits to digital patient intake include:
- Â Reduced wait times, which mitigates the number of disruptive patients, a number that increased by 71% in 2021 according to the MGMA.
- Â Improve patient-reported outcomes (PROs) because patients can complete the process at home where they can relax and, importantly, have access to key information, including family history.
- Â Front desk staff can verify payer information and financial responsibility before patient appointments.
Another key benefit of digital check-in is that patients enjoy self-service and convenience. With most of life now managed online, patients seek a similarly easy healthcare experience. Chief Healthcare Executive reports that 61% of poll respondents want the convenience of Uber or Amazon Prime from their healthcare providers. Digital check-in meets patients’ need for consumer-like healthcare.
4. Â Increase patient engagement and knowledge
Overburdened primary care practices can use digital tools to engage with patients outside of appointments. Whether it’s helping with medication adherence, symptom tracking, or education on a particular medical issue, patients are more empowered and informed. Providers can also present additional patient services, such as immunizations, during the digital check-in workflow.
The need for a relationship with a primary care doctor is a critical one for patients. The ever-increasing demand combined with the predicted shortage of clinicians will continue to put pressure on that relationship. But primary care providers today can benefit from a digital strategy that helps mitigate the staffing shortage. Kyruus Connect for Providers is the care access platform that boosts patient engagement, alleviates administrative burden, and creates a top-tier digital experience—all while driving operational efficiencies and organizational growth.
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