Long hours, high-stress situations and overwhelming college debt contribute to burnout among physicians. But so does something you might not have pondered: record keeping.
The clerical burden triggered by electronic medical records, or EHRs, "has become a leading cause of physician burnout," according to a 2017 article in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. That declaration is backed up by a 2014 survey of 6,375 physicians in the U.S.
Technology from a startup called BetterConsult Inc., which recently planted its roots in Houston, aims to help diminish clerical burdens and physician burnout. BetterConsult is one of the latest entrants in the $31.5 billion global EHR market.
Through an online questionnaire, BetterConsult's software captures a patient's symptoms, medication, and other clinical information before an office visit. It then translates the data into concise medical notes available for a doctor to review.
BetterConsult says its technology can:
- Decrease administrative tasks.
- Enable doctors to see more patients.
- Offer better insight into a patient's condition.
- Improve patient outcomes.
Chris Barakat, senior vice president of BetterConsult, says Houston is the first U.S. market for the startup's offering. BetterConsult already is up and running in Australia, where parent company HealthShare Pty Ltd., a provider of healthcare technology, is based.
Barakat seeks to sign up at least 5,000 doctors — primary care physicians and medical specialists — in the Houston area by January 2023, which he says would result in about 400,000 patient e-consultations per week.
"BetterConsult has a vast database of symptoms and concerns available for patients to select which provides additional actionable information to the physician," Barakat wrote in a post on Medium.com. "In addition, the application can be used to support the continuum of care by updating the patient information for future visits. The solution has potential applications to provide value in emerging areas including telehealth, mental health, and population health."
Telehealth alone holds massive potential. A recent report from Global Market Insights forecasts the worldwide telehealth market will reach $130.5 billion by 2025, up from the current $38.3 billion.
"Telehealth is part of a larger digital transformation in health care. The electronic health record, omnipresent mobile devices, and faster internet connections have provided new ways for patients and providers to interact," the American Hospital Association says.
At this point, Barakat is BetterConsult's sole employee in the Houston office, but the company plans to add an untold number of sales, marketing, and support professionals. The startup graduated in June from the TMCx business accelerator at the Texas Medical Center Innovation Institute.
BetterConsult's technology is slowly being rolled out in the Houston area. Barakat says the BetterConsult software will be piloted at two major healthcare systems in Texas.
Dr. Rajat Bhatt has installed BetterConsult's software at his three rheumatology clinics in the Houston area. Bhatt says the technology has cut documentation work by 40 percent. In addition, he says, it has decreased diagnosis errors, thanks to taking into account a patient's full medical history rather than just a current condition.
"The time I am saving is allowing me to increase the number of patients I see per day, helping to reduce the extensive wait times for Texans to see a rheumatologist," Bhatt says. "Because of the volume of patients I can now see, it has made my business much more economical. I can now see new patients within a week."