Study Shows ‘Invisible’ Burden of Family Doctors

A report shows that family doctors, paid by the visit, perform many hours of uncompensated follow-up work.

Dr. David Blumenthal, the Obama administration’s national coordinator for health information technology, said the study published in the New England Journal of Medicine was “full of important lessons for primary care and for the nation’s health system.”

In an e-mail message, Dr. Blumenthal said the study showed “the enormous strain” on family doctors, but also “a pathway toward escaping at least some of those burdens: the electronic health record combined with changes in workflow and payment.”

Pay them. They do the work.