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Physicians, Technology

Physician Access and Time Creep

August 16, 2017 By Bryan Vartabedian · Reading Time: < 1 minutes

Access and time creepWith the birth of Twitter some years ago physician activist Wes Fisher first described time creep (I’ll add the link or the Tweet if someone can find it). That’s the evolving ability to be reached that comes with new communication platforms. Time creep impacts everyone according to Jennifer Close in the New York Times:

The new normal in work culture is for everyone to be in touch. Always. No exceptions. A friend of mine who works in public relations has taken to wearing an Apple Watch because she’s not allowed to go more than three hours without responding to a client. That’s on the weekends. During the week, it’s an hour. Another friend, a former White House staff member, had to leave a wedding to take a work call. This was for his new job, where he is no longer working for the leader of the free world, and he still felt that he couldn’t wait until the couple said “I do” before jumping on a conference call. | Jennifer Close – The Vacation Denier-in-Chief

As I suggested last month in Doctors and the Fantasy of Access availability isn’t always a good thing when it comes to doctors:

Physician access is good. But too much access may not be a good thing. Be it on social or by phone. I don’t want to talk to my neurologist after her second glass of Pinot Noir on Saturday night.

Wendy Sue Swanson frequently sells me on the power of unplugging. That’s the web. But there’s our immediate network with dangerous inbound access to our mobile devices.

I need to follow Wendy’s lead and take a disconnected vacation. But not sure how to do that without my phone. And all those people with my number.

Beautiful image modified via Bine Rodenberger

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Tagged With: Burnout

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Bryan Vartabedian, MD

Bryan Vartabedian, MD
Bryan Vartabedian is the Chief Pediatrics Officer at Texas Children’s Hospital North Austin and one of health care’s influential
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