Here are three key disruptors that are making physicians nervous:
Telemedicine
"Telemedicine requires doctors to be available beyond traditional hours, increasing stress and fatigue," Roger Kaldaway, MD, owner and CEO of Milford, Mass.-based Milford-Franklin Eye Center, told Becker's.
Dr. Kaldaway added that retail healthcare and direct-to-consumer telehealth services, particularly from organizations like Amazon and CVS Health, are also adding competitive pressure.
It's also changing how physicians need to think about care delivery.
"Many of us entered medicine to build strong, face-to-face relationships with our patients. But with the increasing use of telemedicine, we are spending more time interacting with patients through screens instead of in person," Javier Marull, MD, associate professor in the department of anesthesiology and pain management at Dallas-based UT Southwestern Medical Center, told Becker's. "Although this may be practical, it also raises concerns about keeping the personal connection that is important to our profession."
Some are viewing telemedicine as a key tool to help physicians prevent burnout
"There are several factors that can be looked at to improve workflows for physicians, such as decreasing unnecessary administrative burdens, capacity enabling technologies such as telemedicine or virtual or digital charting support and investigating other factors to improve physician job satisfaction," Agnes Hurtuk, MD, assistant professor and ambulatory medical director of ENT at Loyola Medicine in Chicago, told Becker's.
Artificial intelligence
The integration of new technologies and artificial intelligence also means that physicians must shift and adapt the way they practice medicine and invest time in learning how to use new tools.
"AI demands continuous learning and integration into medical practice, which can be overwhelming," Dr. Kaldaway said.
Over half of physicians are concerned about ethical dilemmas when it comes to implementing artificial intelligence in the medical field, according to Medscape's 2024 "Hot Topics in the Medical Profession Report," published Sept. 18.
AI also can streamline care, giving physicians more opportunities to focus on patients.
"AI is being used and will continue to expand being used for the purpose of clinical documentation," David Rosenfeld, MD, anesthesiologist and interventional pain specialist at Peachtree City, Ga.-based Alliance Spine & Pain, told Becker's. "Many administrative functions (precertification, prior authorization, appeals) and general paperwork processing can be made less burdensome to the clinician via the use of AI. AI will likely be used even more in early disease detection, drug development, and improving diagnostic accuracy."
Declining reimbursements
Physicians are also reeling from the effects of declining reimbursements.
"The biggest healthcare disruptor affecting decisions right now is time management with decreasing reimbursements," Sheldon Taub, MD, gastroenterologist at Jupiter (Fla.) Medical Center told Becker's. "Physicians who participate in Medicare have seen almost a 30% decrease in reimbursement in the last 20 years. This is in spite of increasing costs to run an office. They are pushed to cut corners in patient management, which is bad for the overall healthcare system."
Overall, physician reimbursement amounts per Medicare patient decreased around 2.3% between 2005 and 2021 when accounting for inflation, according to a new study from the Harvey L. Neiman Health Policy Institute.
Physician pay cuts will likely continue next year. In July, CMS released its annual proposed changes to the physician fee schedule for 2025, which includes a proposed 93 cent (2.8%) conversion factor decrease from 2024. The proposed physician fee schedule conversion factor for 2025 is $32.36, down from $33.29 in 2024.