Why The Physician Experience Matters

44% of internal medicine physicians reported experiencing burnout in 2020. Internal medicine is one of the top 5 specialties with burnout.

(Medscape 2020)

Happy physicians make happy patients.

In order to meaningfully improve the patient experience and achieve better health outcomes, we first need to create a work environment that supports the needs of our physicians to perform at their best. Founded on a first-principles mentality, The Lanby set out to address the top 5 causes of physician burnout:

1. Too many bureaucratic tasks (eg. charting, paperwork) - 55%

2. Spending too many hours at work - 33%

3. Lack of respect from administrators, employers, colleagues, or staff - 32%

4. EHR responsibilities - 30%

5. Insufficient compensation, reimbursement - 29%

Our practice's goal is to rethink the physician experience to the same extent as the patient experience. Here are just a few ways The Lanby is seeking to improve the physician experience: 

Care teams:

‍Our 3-person care team approach allows physicians to leverage complementary skill sets to provide more comprehensive, integrative care to their patients. Alongside the Wellness Advisor and Concierge Manager, physicians can distribute their workload and collaborate with other team members to build a more robust patient experience.

Smaller patient panels:

A patient panel refers to the number of dedicated patients assigned to a particular physician. In the average primary care practice, that number is about 2300 patients receiving impersonal, reactionary care, to 1 very burnt out doctor. Concierge practices typically solve this problem by bringing that number way down. But we're taking things a step further: The Lanby pulls both levers, by lowering the number of patients and increasing the number of practitioners assigned to a panel.

No-insurance model:

Doctors are traditionally compensated through a fee-for-service model, meaning they get paid per visit. This motivates them to flip their exam rooms as quickly as possible to maximize the number of patients they see in a day. Quality of care is not the primary metric. Instead, we charge one flat annual fee, all visits included. This allows our physicians to focus their time and efforts on what they do best — treating patients. Without administrative work consuming their day, they can finally implement a preventive approach to care.

Flexible hours:

We've adapted to patients' increased comfort around telemedicine to design schedules that support flexibility for our patients and care providers, without sacrificing quality of care. Because we could all use a little WFH to reset our energy levels.

Wellness-first workplace:

We are committed to practicing what we preach. All of our practitioners receive continuous wellness education, programming, and stipends to inspire their intellectual curiosity, allow them to stay up to date on the latest research, and establish a healthy relationship to their work.