Taking a new approach to reduce the incidence of physician disruptive behaviors

Disruptive behaviors continue to play a disturbing role in today's healthcare environment, negatively affecting care relationships that can adversely impact outcomes of patient care. Many organizations have implemented a number of different strategies in an effort to address this important issue with varying degrees of success. New complexities and changing roles, responsibilities and accountabilities for the delivery of appropriate, high-value, high-quality, safe, satisfying care have added increasing pressures on healthcare organizations to better integrate and coordinate healthcare delivery across the entire spectrum of care. Physicians play a crucial role in this process. When disruptive behaviors occur, rather than taking the traditional more remedial punitive approach to behavioral management, organizations would do better to try to focus on strategies that address physician and staff needs and provide appropriate supportive services to help them better adjust to stress and pressures of today's healthcare environment. Increasing levels of stress and burnout are taking their toll on physician attitudes and behaviors resulting in increasing levels of disillusionment, dissatisfaction and frustration affecting physician well-being and performance. Physicians often won't act on their own and we need to look to the organizations they are affiliated with to take the initiative by providing appropriate administrative, clinical and emotional support services before the occurrence of an unwanted event. Allowing physicians' input, listening to their concerns and providing needed support will enhance physician satisfaction, engagement, compliant attitudes and behaviors that lead to less disruption and better patient care.