3 Ways an OBGYN-Specific EHR Can Help Combat Workforce Shortages in Obstetrics and Gynecology

Having the right OBGYN-specific software can help you spend less time on clerical tasks and more time addressing increased workloads during a workforce shortage

The pandemic created a tipping point that has caused society to pay more attention to the impact of physician burnout. According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), burnout rates for physicians are twice as high as other professions, and it’s estimated that 45-70% of OBGYNs experience burnout, ranking OBGYN in the top 10 medical fields to be hit hard by physician burnout.¹ And as the ACOG points out, although the general population continues to grow, the number of OBGYN residencies in large cities has remained stagnant over the last 20 years.¹ Furthermore, the Association of American Medical Colleges reports growing concerns that physician burnout could lead to an acceleration in retirement, only increasing the national shortage of practicing OBGYNs.²

A recent study of over 12,000 physicians, reported that one out of 10 physicians have considered leaving medicine due to the stress and anxiety they experience on a daily basis. What’s more, over 70% of physicians consider burnout to have at least a moderate impact on their lives. And while the COVID-19 pandemic certainly didn’t help matters, the study reported that 79% of physicians said their burnout began before the pandemic.³

So if you’re an OBGYN and you’re feeling burned out from increasing patient demand amongst a shortage of providers and staff, know that you’re not alone. In addition to the global pandemic, a nationwide stall in new OBGYNs entering the workforce, an aging population, and clunky electronic health records (EHR) platforms may all play a role in the rise of physician burnout in obstetrics and gynecology.

Is physician burnout an inevitability for OBGYNs?

​While the stressors placed on OBGYNs continue to increase, fortunately, there are convenient and time-saving EHR tools to help your team. And having the right specialty-specific EHR makes a big difference. At ModMed^®, our brand-new OBGYN-specific EHR, EMA^® was built to help streamline practice operations and speed up the mundane, manual tasks that zap your time and energy.

We worked with our dedicated team of OBGYNs to program obstetrics and gynecology workflows and knowledge into EMA. The OBGYN Clipboard, Pregnancy Chart, OB Questionnaire, Antepartum Record and more are incorporated into your workflow so they are at your fingertips. EMA’s adaptive learning engine and automated features help reduce tedious, time-consuming tasks that, when done manually, can cause bottlenecks during a busy clinic day.

These innovative, time-saving solutions can help you spend less time on coding work and more time with your patients. For some OBGYNs, that translates to seeing and treating more patients in a day. For others, it means simplifying the documentation process so they can spend their evenings at home and not behind a desk.

“ModMed’s EHR and Practice Management solutions have made our days so much smoother that we could easily add 10-12 more patients to the schedule.”

– Mary Partin, Practice Administrator

Here are three time-saving features of our brand new ModMed OBGYN software that could help reduce burnout for you and your team.

#1. Finding the information you need in one place helps you make informed decisions for your patients.

We know that as an OBGYN, it’s important for you to have your patients’ medical history and relevant information on hand so you can make informed decisions that are specific to each individual patient. With EMA, our OBGYN-specific EHR, you’ll find a timeline of the patient’s medical history, an OB problem list, lab results, medications, images and more.

You can even import relevant historical information to a current visit note in a matter of seconds, apply filters and add summary notes. Gone are the days of toggling back and forth between software platforms, across various open screens and under multiple logins. With EMA, you have what you need on one screen, in one software and under one login.

“I wanted one integrated solution to help streamline check-in, checkout, scheduling, billing, reporting and payment processing. Having easy access to patient data in one place connects the front and back office seamlessly.”

‒ ELSON LAI, MD

#2. Lighten the load for your hardworking employees to prevent burnout and navigate national OBGYN shortages

Are your physicians and staff spending valuable time exhausting themselves by switching back and forth, searching for information across multiple platforms and multiple logins, chasing patients for payment, and manually entering visit notes long past closing time? ModMed’s OBGYN-specific EHR system, connects seamlessly with these additional solutions:

ModMed Practice Management:

• Helps improve practice efficiency by simplifying and automating some of the manual tasks that can consume valuable time and contribute to employee fatigue and burnout
• Helps streamline patient check-in, checkout, appointment scheduling, document management and more
• Provides data-driven reports to help monitor the success of your practice

Patient Engagement Tools:

• Patient Portal is available 24/7 for patients to update their own medical information, request refills, review visit notes, receive lab results and more – from virtually anywhere.
• Patient Reminders, when integrated with Practice Management, can help reduce the volume of appointment reminder and confirmation calls, freeing your staff to focus on other tasks throughout the day.
• Patient Self-Scheduling offers time-saving convenience for patients and practices alike. Patients enjoy 24/7 access to request or reschedule appointments online. Meanwhile, office staff maintain the ability to confirm or deny appointment requests as needed.

ModMed Pay:

• Our frictionless payment processing solution syncs with Practice Management to offer patients multiple convenient payment options – online via Patient Portal, by phone with Text to Pay, in-office using ModMed Kiosk and more.
• With ModMed Pay, patients enjoy the ease of autopay or payment plans and a smooth payment experience
• Reduces the risk of potential data entry errors during manual payment processing

#3. Built-in OBGYN-specific content, suggested documentation and coding

Just as obstetrics and gynecology differ from all other medical specialties, no two OBGYNs practice exactly the same way. EMA comes equipped with OBGYN-specific diagnoses and treatment plans, allowing you to document your patient visit while they are still in the exam room. The adaptive learning engine remembers an individual provider’s preferences so it can present their most popular treatment plans and diagnoses.

EMA also suggests ICD-10 codes and uses E/M coding to suggest notes and generate bills based on your clinical documentation for your review, helping you finish charting before your patient even leaves the room. After all, your EHR should add time back to your day, not take it away.

As an ongoing workforce shortage and the effects of COVID-19 continue to impact OBGYN practices – physicians and staff are working longer hours, taking on extra workloads, seeing more patients, and undergoing added stress – employee burnout and fatigue are more likely to take effect than ever before.

Discover how ModMed’s OBGYN-specific EHR and comprehensive software solutions could help your team streamline their work, simplify their daily tasks, and potentially alleviate some of the strain they’re under – freeing them to spend more time with their patients during the day and with their loved ones in the evening.

1. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG): Why OBGYNs Are Burning Out, October 28, 2019. https://www.acog.org/news/news-articles/2019/10/why-ob-gyns-are-burning-out
2. Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC): New AAMC Report Confirms Growing Physician Shortage, June 26, 2020. https://www.aamc.org/news-insights/press-releases/new-aamc-report-confirms-growing-physician-shortage
3. Medscape: ‘Death by 1000 Cuts’ : Medscape National Physician Burnout & Suicide Report 2021, January 22, 2021. https://www.medscape.com/slideshow/2021-lifestyle-burnout-6013456?faf=1#3

This blog is intended for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or medical advice. Please consult with your legal counsel and other qualified advisors to ensure compliance with applicable laws, regulations, and standards.