At a recent medical conference of group practices, I asked health care leaders from across the country to share their top concerns for providing care in their communities. Overwhelmingly, the number one issue was access.
Their response echoed a growing national concern — one that’s becoming increasingly visible in communities everywhere. A national shortage of providers is contributing to longer wait times for appointments, and that’s just one issue we’re facing as a country as we work to improve access to care and make a complex health care system easier to navigate.
Since we mark National Community Health Week every year during June, this is an important opportunity to talk about the challenges we face as a nation with the health care system, how that affects care in our communities and how we can work together locally to make it work better for everyone.
The health care system in the U.S. has seen a lot of change and complexity. Clinician groups are shutting their doors for a host of reasons. For many, the expense and administrative burden of running a practice becomes overwhelming — contributing to a national burnout crisis among practitioners. One study found independent clinicians spend nearly twice as much time on paperwork as they do treating patients. No wonder nearly half of physicians report experiencing burnout, according to the American Medical Association’s annual stress and burnout survey. Many have chosen to leave medicine.
For me, as a leader in a community health system, my fellow physicians and I chose to become affiliated with Optum, a health care company dedicated to helping people live healthier lives by investing in our providers, our practices and the community. We remain the same people who have taken care of our friends, loved ones and neighbors for years but we now have a wide network of people we can turn to for administrative support and access to resources to keep up with the latest medical developments.
Take, for example, what is happening at Optum Medical Care in Mount Kisco, New York. Optum recently invested significantly in that facility to open an expansive new state-of-the-art cardiology suite. Additionally, we brought expanded care to the Port Jefferson Station, New York, community with a new multi-specialty medical building offering dermatology, pediatrics, primary care and podiatry services under one roof. Those are just two examples of many investments and projects we have across the region to bring state-of-the-art facilities and care to our communities.
Blame for the complexities of health care in the U.S. is tossed around, and those seeking care are often caught in the middle. The reality is that no single company can fix the fragmentation and complexities deeply embedded in our health care system.
Tackling our toughest challenges is part of the reason I serve on a national steering committee of group practice leaders. We welcome input and dialogue from local, state and national public leaders so we can work together to build a better health care system. Closer to home in the Hudson Valley where I serve as the local Optum leader, I am committed to improving the access and connectivity to clinicians our community expects and deserves, and to have every experience you have with our providers feel personal and of the highest quality.
The challenges in health care are not unique to us, but our Optum team is working tirelessly on local solutions, and I hope we can find common ground with other public and private community leaders to work together to make the health system work better for everyone.
Dr. Jonathan Nasser is the chief executive officer of Optum New York and New Jersey, and the president of Optum Medical Care and Crystal Run Healthcare Physicians.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Public and private sectors must partner to improve community health in NY, NJ | Opinion
Reporting by Jonathan Nasser / NorthJersey.com
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