Physicians have an obligation to consider a patient’s quality of life when making treatment decisions and should consider giving patients the options of withholding or withdrawing aggressive treatment if that treatment will not restore the kind of life the patient finds meaningful.
Appropriate use of the pay-for-performance system may improve quality of care by counteracting physician incentives to overtreat in fee-for-service situations or undertreat in capitation plans.
A philosophical analysis of how physician actions and treatment goals are defined and interpreted and how understanding this process can affect the success of the clinical encounter.
Physicians can maintain a balance between professional and personal obligations by having a well-organized practice and honest communication with patients.
To be a useful tool for assessing quality of physician care, pay-for-performance must be designed to include process measures and to not penalize physicians for treating patients with difficult-to-manage conditions.
Focusing on patient-communication can help physicians alleviate the stress caused by the administrative tasks and regulations associated with managed care.
Stress management techniques can help physicians deal with various personal and workplace stressors in order to prevent and alleviate physician burnout and depression.