ACP position paper calls for reducing administrative tasks for physicians

Editor's Note

A position paper from the American College of Physicians (ACP) makes recommendations on administrative tasks to mitigate or eliminate their adverse effects on physicians, their patients, and the whole healthcare system.

Among the recommendations:

• Stakeholders external to physician practices (ie, payers, government and other oversight organizations, vendors, and suppliers) who impose administrative tasks on physicians should provide financial, time, and quality of care impact statements for public review and comment.
• Administrative tasks that cannot be eliminated must be regularly reviewed and revised with the goal of minimizing burden.
• Healthcare information technology must be improved and innovative alternatives developed to facilitate the elimination, reduction, alignment, and streamlining of administrative tasks.
•  Research should be conducted on the effect of administrative tasks on healthcare quality, time, and costs for physicians, other clinicians, their staff, healthcare organizations, and patients.