Doctors are expected to multitask in hospitals, and this applies to physicians across all levels. M3 India’s recent global survey depicts what physician workload comprises of in three countries- India, US, and Japan, among specific age groups and what part of the daily workload do doctors want reduced.

 

 

 

 

The healthcare system is such that doctors are required to do a lot more than just treat patients and perform surgeries and follow ups. In fact, almost half of a work day is allocated to these ‘other’ duties and unfortunately, they cannot be missed. Sadly, although every medic is expected to complete all these tasks, most believe this also takes away valuable time that could be more productively spent on patient care.

Part 2 of M3 India’s Global Survey compares physician workload across 3 countries (India, US, and Japan) and aims to understand which specific hospital duties doctors wish they could be given less of.

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Comparison of physician workload*

Across all three countries surveyed, doctors in Japan rate heavy workload across most tasks. On the other hand, only 2 of the tasks were rated as heavy worklod by more than 20% of Indian Doctors.

 

Apart from treating patients and checking on patients who have just had surgery, physicians are expected to complete several other tasks during the day. This includes paperwork, surgical procedure-related work, administrative duties, attending meetings, and lecturing medical school students. This of course, again varies from country to country.

 

Comparison of which workload doctors want reduced*

45% Indian doctors want administrative duties and 31% want miscellaneous work to be reduced.

 

 

When asked about which areas they would like to reduce workload in, 45% Indian doctors wanted administrative duties to be reduced, probably so they could focus more on patient care, followed by US at 29%. 54% Japanese doctors seem to agree that they would like to reduce miscellaneous workload and committee meeting attendance (36%), mostly to make more time for productive work like patient treatment.

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Finding

Of all three countries surveyed, Indian doctors in general did not rate most activities as adding high workload, though a significant number of them would like a reduction in the administrative (45%) and miscellaneous (31%) duties that they tend to be tied down with.

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To read part 1 of the global survey, which discusses about work days and work hours for doctors in India, US, and Japan, click here.

To read part 3 of the survey which discusses professional satisfaction among doctors in India, US, and Japan, click here.

To read part 4 of the survey which discusses about when doctors in India, US, and Japan decide on their career and if they would recommend their professions, click here.

To read part 5 of the survey which investigates how easy or difficult it is for doctors to avail childcare leave in India, US, and Japan, click here.

To read part 6 of the survey which investigates work-life balance of doctors in India, US, and Japan, click here.

To read part 7 of the survey which discusses doctors' views on the healthcare systems in their respective countries- India, US, and Japan, click here.

To read part 8 of the survey which reveals the country that ranks best across various parameters like healthcare system, quality of medical care, work environment, salary, and basic medical reasearch, click here.

*This data should be read as indicative of rather than exact figures.