Ten-year trends in family medicine residency productivity and staffing: impact of electronic health records, resident duty hours, and the medical home.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Electronic health records (EHRs), resident duty hour restrictions, and Patient-centered Medical Home (PCMH) innovations have all impacted the clinical practices of residency programs over the past decade. The University of Washington Family Medicine Network (UWFMN) residencies have collaborated for 10 years in collecting and comparing data regarding the productivity and operations of their training programs to identify the program-level effects of such changes. Based on five survey results from 2000 to 2010, this study examines changes in faculty and resident productivity and staffing models of UWFMN residency training clinics using a standardized methodology, specifically describing the productivity impact of EHR changes and duty hour restrictions and the implementation of the PCMH by residencies. METHODS Data were systematically collected via standardized questionnaire, evaluated for quality, clarified, and then analyzed. RESULTS Resident productivity decreased over the 10-year interval, with resident total yearly patient visits down 17.2%. Core family medicine faculty productivity was highly variable among programs, and nonphysician provider visits increased. Faculty part-time status increased. Front office, medical assistant, and nursing staffing grew significantly, but other administrative staff decreased, resulting in minimal change in total non-provider staffing. A majority of programs engaged in PCMH initiatives in 2010 and had implemented an EHR. CONCLUSIONS Physician productivity in UWFMN residency programs decreased for all resident physicians from 2000 to 2010, likely due to a combination of decreased resident duty hours and other clinical practice changes. Productivity trends have implications for the structure and training requirements for family medicine residency programs.