Reducing Healthcare’s Administrative Burden

Managing the many aspects of healthcare administration can feel overwhelming. While it’s necessary, tasks like managing patient charts, insurance claims, prior authorizations, scheduling and more can quickly become a heavy burden. Even the most capable physicians, can’t “do it all”. Beyond workload, administrative demands drive up healthcare costs. Research shows that administrative spending makes up nearly 30% of total U.S. healthcare costs, highlighting the urgent need for efficiency. Moreover, time spent on administrative tasks takes time away from patient care as physicians spend twice as much time on paperwork as they do with patients.

So how can healthcare providers ease this burden and boost efficiency? This blog post covers key challenges and a practical solution to streamline workflows.

What Is Healthcare Administrative Burden?

Administrative burden refers to the time and effort healthcare providers and staff spend on non-clinical tasks that take time away from patient care. Some of these may include

• Documenting patient visits and treatment plans

• Processing insurance claims and handling billing disputes

• Referring patients to specialists and coordinating their care

• Managing prescription refills and prior authorizations

• Verifying patient coverage and maintaining provider credentials

• Resolving insurance denials and following up on outstanding claims

While these tasks are essential, they can take over a day, leading to frustration, inefficiency, and added costs.

The Many Impacts Of Healthcare Administrative Burden

The impacts of administrative burden are more widespread than one can ever imagine. Let’s look at some of the most significant ways administrative overload impacts the system.

Physician Burnout

With over 60% of physicians reporting at least one symptom of burnout, administrative overload is a major culprit. Studies show that excessive documentation and other non-clinical tasks are key drivers of stress, contributing to emotional exhaustion and job dissatisfaction among providers.

Economic Strain

Administrative waste makes up billions of dollars in unnecessary healthcare spending every year. McKinsey estimates that streamlining processes could save $265 billion annually. Reducing paperwork and simplifying workflows could help control rising healthcare costs while improving efficiency.

Inefficiencies drive costs -Non-clinical expenses, rising healthcare costs, and misallocated resources strain budgets diverting funds from patient care.

Complex systems burden patients - Navigating insurance requirements is challenging, especially for those with language barriers, cognitive challenges, or caregiving responsibilities.

Claim denials shift costs - 56% of Medicare Advantage plans wrongfully deny claims, and 45% of denial letters contain errors or lack appeal details, forcing patients to pay avoidable costs.

Lack of awareness - Patients often lack understanding of appeals processes, leading to unnecessary financial strain.

Business Impact

Administrative tasks don’t just take time away from patient care—they also affect the overall business operations of medical practices. Some key issues include

Increased workload - Heavy administrative workloads place significant strain on healthcare staff. As per the Canadian Federation of Independent Business physicians are spending 18.5 million hours annually on unnecessary administrative tasks.

Lost Time - Excessive time spent on scheduling and obtaining prior authorizations detracts from patient care. The Physician Administrative Burden Survey highlights that this reduces opportunities for direct patient interaction.

Staff burnout and turnover - Burnout from heavy administrative workloads often drives staff turnover. According to The Century Foundation, nearly half of physicians leaving the profession cite burnout as the primary reason.

Budget Constraints - Practices must hire and train additional administrative staff to manage growing paperwork demands, further straining budgets. The Bureau of Labor Statistics has estimated a rising demand for administrative roles.

Patient Experience

From the patient's perspective, the heavy administrative load means less face-to-face time with healthcare providers and more hours spent handling paperwork, making phone calls, and resolving insurance-related matters. This shift away from personalized, patient-focused care often results in poorer health outcomes and lower satisfaction with the overall healthcare experience. Some of the common issues include

Billing errors and claim denials - Mistakes in medical billing can leave patients with unexpected costs and financial stress.

Delays in care - Prior authorization requirements and insurance processing can slow down timely treatment, resulting in longer wait times and delayed access to care.

Adverse Health Outcomes - Administrative delays and inefficiencies can hinder timely care and lead to preventable complications.

Medicaid “Churn” - Transitioning in and out of Medicaid generally leads to administrative challenges that disrupt access to and continuity of care.

The Need For A Solution

The administrative burden is becoming too much to handle, impacting physicians, staff, patients, and the healthcare system as a whole. The challenges are clear - burnout, rising costs, operational inefficiencies, and delays in patient care. But there’s a way forward. By embracing innovative virtual solutions, physicians and their teams can overcome time and resource barriers to work at their best. That’s where virtual assistants come in. Virtual assistants work as an extension of your office. They work in conjunction with your in-office staff, seamlessly handling administrative tasks, reducing workload, and ensuring smoother operations - so you can focus entirely on patient care.

The Way Forward – Virtual Assistants

Medical practices struggle to balance patient care with overwhelming administrative workloads, which drain valuable time and resources. But there’s a solution! Virtual assistants from Physicians Angels expertly handle the intricacies of healthcare administration, ensuring accuracy and compliance while freeing up valuable time for physicians and staff. This shift not only reduces burnout but also enhances operational efficiency, allowing physicians and staff to focus on clinical care and patient-centered responsibilities. Hire Physicians Angels virtual assistant and put an end to your most frustrating medical office challenge – administrative burden!

It’s time to break free from administrative workloads! Let Physicians Angels’ virtual assistants take over the time-consuming administrative tasks so you and your team can focus on patient care activities. Start a 30-day trial and experience the relief of offloading your administrative burden!