A Indianapolis Medicaid attorney provides you with help in making certain that you can cover the costs of care that you need. As you get older, you may experience illnesses or a decline due to age that necessitates you get more intensive medical services or that necessitates you receive nursing home care. Medicare should cover most seniors, but there are limits on coverage that could result in substantial financial loss. Frank & Kraft will work with you to make certain that you can qualify for Medicaid so you can get covered when you need care. 
In addition to making sure that you can cover your medical costs, people of all ages may also face other challenges when it comes to the healthcare that they receive. One such challenge may involve doctors becoming burned out. Indy Star reported recently on the epidemic of doctor burnout and the impact that this could have on the health and well-being of patients.
Doctor Burnout is Reaching Epidemic Proportions
According to the Indy Star, doctor burnout occurs when physicians begin to lose their enthusiasm for their professional career and for the work that they do. Doctor burnout can manifest as emotional exhaustion or as cynicism. It can cause physicians to become less professionally invested in he outcomes of their patients. It can also result in doctors feeling a diminished sense of personal and professional accomplishment.
Doctors who become burned out often essentially put in their time without really caring about providing patients with the highest level of care and service. It can result in doctors behaving less professionally as they provide healthcare to their patients. Burned out doctors could also become more callous and more disinterested in their patients. The result of this could be that their professional judgement is jeopardized and they become less capable of providing safe and high-quality patient care.
Burnout is understandable among physicians, as the Indy Star explains, as a result of having very high stress jobs. Patients often have unrealistic expectations regarding exactly what a doctor can do for them. All of this can make it difficult for physicians to continue to do their jobs with the same level of enthusiasm as they advance in their careers.
Unfortunately, doctor burnout has been linked to depression, which about 16 percent of physicians suffer from. It has also been linked to substance abuse, which is a problem for around 10 percent of physicians, and it could help to explain why physicians commit suicide at higher rates than the suicide rate in the general population.
Studies have found that the burnout rate among physicians has been steadily increasing, largely because of more government mandates, an increase in the need for bureaucratic paperwork, and more intensive requirements for maintaining certification and accreditation. New mandates to maintain electronic health records are a leading contributing factor of doctor burnout, as complying with mandates to maintain electronic health records can add hours to a doctor’s day and can interfere with the ability of physicians to connect with patients and provide the type of care they wish to offer.
Today, among some specialties, anywhere from 40 to 55 percent of physicians are reportedly experiencing burnout. Typically, burnout is much more common among primary care doctors and doctors within general care fields, as opposed to among specialist physicians. Doctors believe that the problem of physician burnout is only likely to get worse unless big changes are made to the healthcare system. Making big changes is, unfortunately, politically difficult because health care is such a hot button issue and because there are very powerful special interests who all have a stake in the current system. Unfortunately, both doctors and patients suffer as a direct result of doctor burnout and it is a problem for both physicians and patients if things get worse instead of getting better.
Getting Help from An Indianapolis Medicaid Attorney
An Indianapolis Medicaid attorney at Frank & Kraft can offer you personalized one-on-one help with making plans to get the care you need if you are sick or getting older. We will work closely with you to make certain that you can cover your costs through Medicaid for high quality caregivers that will provide you with appropriate treatments to maintain your quality of life and manage illness.
To find out more about how our legal team can help you, join us for a free seminar. You can also give us a call at 317-684-1100 or contact us online to talk with an Indianapolis Medicaid attorney about the ways in which our legal team can help you.
Paul A. Kraft, Estate Planning Attorney
Mr. Kraft assists clients primarily in the areas of estate planning and administration, Medicaid planning, federal and state taxation, real estate and corporate law, bringing the added perspective of an accounting background to his work.
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