The ABC News (9/6, Mehta) website reports, “Interactions with physicians have dramatically changed since the introduction of electronic health records (EHRs), with the switch from paper intended to increase physician interactions with patients.” Now researchers have found that physicians “may spend nearly half their time documenting and performing administrative tasks rather than having face-to-face time with patients.”

STAT (9/6, Bush) reports, “Electronic health records slow doctors down and distract them from meaningful face time caring for patients,” researchers found in a “time and motion study published” in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Related Links:

— “Doctors May Spend Nearly Half Their Time on ‘Paperwork,’ Study Says,” DR. SHAILJA MEHTA, ABC News, September 6, 2016.

MedPage Today (9/6, Swift) reports that research suggests “adults with arthritis” may have “significantly higher odds of suicide attempts.” Investigators found, “in an analysis that adjusted for sociodemographics, childhood adversities, lifetime mental health, and chronic pain, the odds ratio for suicide attempts among adults with arthritis was 1.46 (95% CI 1.15-1.85).” The data indicated that, “compared with people without arthritis, the prevalence of ever attempting suicide was higher for both male patients (3.9% versus 2%) and female patients (5.3% versus 3.2%).” The findings of the large study were published in the September issue of Rheumatology International.

Related Links:

— “Higher Odds of Suicide Attempts in Adults With Arthritis,” Diana Swift, MedPage Today, September 6, 2016.

MedPage Today (9/4, Boyles) reported that research indicated individuals “with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who remained physically active were less likely to experience depression and anxiety as their disease progressed.” In the large study, researchers found that “higher physical activity level at baseline was associated with an 11% reduced risk of developing anxiety over 5 years of follow-up, and a 15% reduced risk for depression.” Meanwhile, in a separate “study, a survey of hospital- and community-based exercise practitioners in Canada found that many programs were not following international guidelines for exercise therapy in a COPD patient population.” Both studies were presented at the European Respiratory Society International Congress.

Related Links:

— “ERS: Exercise Curtails COPD Depression, Anxiety,” Salynn Boyles, MedPage Today, September 4, 2016.

The Washington Post (9/2, Humphreys) “Wonkblog” reported that despite efforts to make healthcare more accessible to Americans over the last decade, research indicates even those with healthcare coverage have trouble finding psychiatrists.

A study led found that from 2003 to 2013, “adult primary-care physicians increased by 9.5 percent and the number of neurologists increased by 35.7 percent,” but the number of psychiatrists fell by 0.2 percent. Another study conducted by the same researchers revealed that most physicians accept private and public insurance, but just 50 percent of psychiatrists do so.

The article said this is due to the fact that psychiatrists “are much in demand and can therefore often keep their practices full on a cash-only basis.”

Related Links:

— “The troubling reason it’s so hard to find a psychiatrist in the United States,” Keith Humphreys, Washington Post, September 2, 2016.

On the front of its Science Times section, the New York Times (9/6, D1, Hafner, Subscription Publication) reports in a nearly 1,800-word article on the physical and mental effects of loneliness experienced by the elderly. In the UK and in the US, “roughly one in three people older than 65 live alone.” Investigators “have found mounting evidence linking loneliness to physical illness and to functional and cognitive decline.” Loneliness, “as a predictor of early death” even surpasses obesity.

Related Links:

— “Researchers Confront an Epidemic of Loneliness,” KATIE HAFNER, New York Times, September 5, 2016.