Self-management: Primary care physicians and specialists put themselves under pressure

Data, facts and instruments on the German health system

What it’s all about

Work pressure, stress, demotivation: for many practice owners, these terms are daily reality. But often this stress would not be necessary at all.

Quality of work correlates with the implementation of the best practice standard

The company comparison proves the obvious, but much too little considered correlation that the stress perception depends quite decisively on the quality of the practice management: Physicians and medical assistants in practice operations that are characterized by a best practice implementation level of 80% and more hardly feel any stress, according to their own statements. From a best practice realization of 60% descending, the stress load increases disproportionately.

Deficits in the management of one’s own person

One area of action in practice management is the practice owner’s self-management and time management. This includes using techniques such as setting priorities, delegation, grouping similar work into blocks, or consistent communication. If one measures with the help of the key performance indicator „Self Management Quality Score“ (SMQS) the degree of implementation of the regulations necessary for a functioning self-management, a value of 43% results on average for the physicians working in family and specialist practices, i.e. 57% of the possibilities for the stress avoidance as well as for the increase of the personal efficiency and productivity are not used.

Knowledge of SMQS is essential

Because of its particular importance, it is essential for practice owners to know their personal SMQS, as it shows them the means by which they can improve their quality of work and life. The indicator is an integral part of practice management benchmarking. How this convenience approach works and what it accomplishes is described in detail in the publication: „Benchmarking Practice Management for Family Physicians and Specialists – Method, Application and Benefits“. It is free of charge for family physicians and specialists, the code needed for the free download can be requested by e-mail to the address post@ifabs.de by naming the practice address,