Volume 2

Optimal Training Schedule and Time Management for Physicians

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The CAMP Method study produced an optimal training schedule for physician clinical documentation improvement training. The optimal program includes classroom sessions delivered on either side of practicing the skill (Mastering). It is important for both quality and compliance purposes that physicians have the time to learn clinical documentation practices correctly. This means the physicians participate in four total hours of instruction and apply the concepts introduced to them between sessions.  Most clinical documentation training is limited in scope and time. And, as the CAMP Method study results show, even a limited 90-minutes training program produces suboptimal results. In the end, it is the healthcare organization’s responsibility to provide effective training to their medical staff on clinical documentation issues.

In the CAMP Method study, time management was identified by physicians as the largest, most commonly perceived barrier to high quality clinical documentation. After initial training and practice, many physicians reconsidered their concerns. However, because time management is a significant up-front concern for most physicians, it will be helpful for your organization to acknowledge this and provide some relief to physicians. More importantly, because lack of time is consistently identified by physicians as a significant concern, it is important for the instructors to be familiar with time management principles for physicians.

This chapter addresses methods for designing optimal training schedules as well as time management resources and instruction.