As the nation’s attention has recently turned to immigration, a spotlight has fallen on U.S. doctors – many of whom were either born or trained overseas. While we’re not politicians, and will leave the debate on immigration to them, Harvard researchers recently used Doximity data to shed light on the value of foreign-born doctors to the U.S. medical system.

In this instance, our data science helped illuminate some important findings. As published in the prestigious journal BMJ, the Harvard team conducted a study that found U.S. patients treated by foreign doctors actually had lower mortality rates than patients cared for by doctors trained here in the United States. This unique observation led to headlines across the country, from the Wall Street Journal to Reuters, as well as WebMD.com.

Harvard researchers Yusuke Tsugawa, Anupam Jena, John Orav, and Ashish Jha analyzed Doximity’s extensive network of physicians, which includes nearly 70 percent of all doctors licensed to practice in the U.S., to conclude that foreign physicians meet and exceed very high standards. (Researchers also compared data from 100% Medicare Inpatient Files, 20% Medicare Carrier Files, and the American Hospital Association annual survey on hospital characteristics).

The lead author, Tsugawa, speculated that the various barriers foreign doctors must overcome to practice in the United States may lead us to attract only the most motivated, saying, “I think we are selecting the best and brightest from the world.”

Additionally, on the popular website FiveThirtyEight, four Harvard researchers, including study co-author Anupam Jena, further mined Doximity data to understand how doctors might be affected by a travel ban on immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries. Of the doctors evaluated, 8,243 were trained in those seven countries, or about 5 percent. They noted:

“Our research finds that foreign-trained doctors play an even larger role than their share of the physician workforce would suggest because of the areas and specialties in which they often practice: rural, underserved regions and specialties facing a large shortage of practitioners.”

Doximity is already the fastest growing and most popular network for doctors, and we’re proud of our contribution to leading edge research projects, such as the work produced by the Harvard team. As we grow, we look forward to developing our own research insights, in addition to continuing to support academic efforts, and are proud to play a foundational role in research that helps provide crucial context for a national conversation.

In the past year, some staggering facts on issues related to patient safety have come to light.

One of the most disappointing pieces of news in 2016 was the study by researchers at John Hopkins Medicine saying medical errors rank as the third leading cause of death in the United States. These medical errors are defined as anything from surgical complications that go unrecognized, to mix-ups with doses or types of medications that patients receive.

Based on an analysis of prior research, the study estimated that more than 250,000 Americans die each year from medical errors.

Most of these deaths are preventable, and there are factors surrounding medical mistakes that we can modify and improve to minimize the chance for medical errors.

We spoke to Kaustubh Dabhadkar, a Cardiology fellow at Brown University, about his experiences with patient safety.

“Every day, we see many instances where patient safety could be improved,” he began. “Unfortunately, most of them relate to provider communication.

Last week I cared for a young female who switched her care to me from a different healthcare system. She had surgery on her heart as a kid. Due to the nature of her job, she has lived in three states over last two years. Every time she switches a cardiologist, she has to make sure her records are sent over, and unfortunately this time, the records were not transmitted over. In the clinic, she complained of episodic shortness of breath and palpitations over the last month. The cardiologist who had treated her before could not be reached during the clinic visit. So I had to start her workup and treatment without knowing details of her heart surgery. Eventually, I received a 95-page fax three days after requesting her records. After digging through that, I found the four pages that I cared most about.

Very often, and this is the case more so with specialists, patients show up without any records. We are left to make our study and examinations without basic knowledge of the patient’s medical history.

Quite often this is urgent. We spend a lot of time in the emergency room, and when a patient comes in with a heart attack, we need to look at their prior records. A lot of hospitals don’t have their own catheterization labs, and when patients get transferred, all their records are pulled, and we are on the phone on the other side, faxing things, forwarding to hospitals, etc. This is an everyday thing, and some of those records don’t make it back to us soon enough. They’re faxed to someone in the office, who then tries to reach me, and I end up with no access to records.”

In moments of emergency, provider communication and technology success is vital. However, it is also critically important in non-emergency situations. Misinformation and lack of information, especially in regards to patient records, can start workflows that lead to endangering patient safety.

“It still baffles all physicians that in this day and age of connectivity, it is difficult to communicate efficiently with another healthcare system or physician,” Dabhadkar remarked.

“Despite the tremendous progress in the procedural field, the medical community is resistant to communication technology. As an example, most physicians still carry a pager and trust it more than a smartphone. Some of us still prefer paper charts to electronic health records. Part of the reason is - the technology is sometimes developed without considering physician workflow.”

In order to take steps toward improving miscommunication and other medical errors, some hospitals are working with organizations like the Patient Safety Movement Foundation.

“Hospitals that attain zero preventable deaths in areas like healthcare-associated infections plan for it for it by implementing processes like our Actionable Patient Safety Solutions (APSS),” said Joe Kiani, Founder of the Patient Safety Movement Foundation.

“80% of serious medical errors involve miscommunication during hand-off between clinicians. The implementation plan and solutions we note are key for accurate, complete, and effective handoff communication” said Kiani.

Medical errors are a leading cause of death in America, and both the catalyst and the solution seem to revolve around communication.

“After all,” Dabhadkar expresses, “we are all working towards a shared goal of patient safety.”

Doximity is proud to be supporting one of the strongest advocates of ending medical errors, the Patient Safety Movement Foundation, whose mission is to achieve “zero preventable deaths by 2020.” Toward that goal, they are kicking off 2017 with the fifth annual World Patient Safety, Science & Technology Summit.

The Summit will bring together international leaders from hospitals, medical and information technology companies, the patient advocacy community, public policy makers and government officials to discuss solutions to the leading challenges that cause preventable patient death in hospitals. Their keynote speaker is President Bill Clinton. For the agenda, click here, and for a link to live steam, click here.

To learn more about the Patient Safety Movement, click here.

When it comes to looking for your first job out of training, the task might seem like a bigger job than residency itself. There are so many decisions to be made - where do you want to live and what kind of practice setting do you want? How do you put together a CV? Not to mention, where do you even start looking for jobs?

The truth is, the current job hunt process for residents is painfully antiquated. Whether it’s calling your target institutions or looking in the classifieds of a journal, finding a job as a physician is about as up-to-date as your pager. With this in mind, we came up with something better. So easy that some of our doctors on staff wish they could go back to residency... almost.

Career Match is an online job matching platform that connects you to top employers in locations of your choice. Once you’ve told us about the job you want, we’ll bring the interview offers to you. And if you’ve got any questions, you’ll be assigned to a personal career advocate who guides you from start to finish.

So how does Career Match work?

1. You tell us about your ideal job.
2. We match you with multiple opportunities.
3. You pick the job you like best.

Once you place, we’ll even give you $3000 to help you get settled into post-residency life. Let us do the job hunting for you, so you can get back to being a resident - what’s not to love about never ending rounds, night shifts and cafeteria food?

Get started

As the new year approaches, we took a look back at 2016 to pick out the top 6 headaches that physicians faced throughout the year - as well as potential ways to address them.

1. “I need to call my patient, but I don’t want to give out my personal number by using my cell phone. And if I use * 67 to call my patient from a blocked number, they won’t pick up.”
   Our new, free app Doximity Dialer allows you to call patients from your cell phone, without using *67. They will see your office line in the Caller ID.

2. “I’m graduating residency and I want the tools to start my career off right.”
   With Career Match, you can gain insight into salary trends, alumni networks and contract negotiations. You'll also receive offers to interview, and access to a talent advocate to guide you through the process. If that wasn't enough, you'll also receive a $3,000 bonus as a thank you when you land your dream job through us.

3. “It’s impossible to filter through and keep up with medical news every day.”
   The Doximity newsfeed provides you with daily, curated medical news in one place, as well as weekly email digests tailored to your specialty. You can read it online, or for those clinicians on the go, you can also read it on your phone.

4. “I want to make sure I’m being compensated fairly, especially in comparison to other physicians in my area.”
   Our Career Navigator tool gives Doximity members free access to salary data from tens of thousands of physicians, PAs, nurse practitioners, medical groups, hospitals and healthcare organizations worldwide.

5. “My license renewal is coming up and I need CME credits but I don't have time for a conference”
   On Doximity, you can earn Category 1 CME at no cost - simply by reading CME-eligible articles for free.

6. “I can’t believe it is the end of 2016 and I’m still regularly using a fax machine.”
   With Doximity’s free fax and digital signature on our mobile app, you can go digital even if the rest of healthcare is relying on 1980’s technology.

We look forward to seeing what new features and apps we can create for clinicians to help meet their needs in 2017. Have a great end to your 2016, and we will see you in the new year!

A new study reveals that 32,000 less patients would die per year if treated by female physicians compared to male physicians. The study, which linked 4 years of Medicare data for 1.5 million patients aged 65 and older to professional and demographic physician data from the online professional network Doximity, shows a significant decrease in patient readmissions and patient deaths after 30 days for those treated by female internists.

“We know from prior work that female physicians earn about 80 cents on the dollar compared to male physicians, but whether outcomes of patients treated by female physicians differ has never been studied,” study co-author Anupam B. Jena, MD, PhD, the Ruth L. Newhouse Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Jena has used Doximity’s data to study how physician characteristics influence patient outcomes and gender differences in promotion in academic medicine.

These new findings show that patients treated by female physicians experienced almost a half a percentage point decrease in mortality rate within a month of hospitalization, as well as a comparable drop in the chance that patient would return to the hospital. While these gains could be considered unsubstantial, these figures are akin to successful improvements in large scale national quality movements that have occurred over the last decade.

Researchers point out that primary care ‘female physicians are more likely to practice evidence-based medicine, perform as well or better on standardized examinations, and provide more patient-centered care.’ But, it is unclear if these characteristics led to the better patient outcomes witnessed in the study.

The authors acknowledge that a limitation of the study’s results is that they were unable to identify “why” these observed differences between male and female physicians occurred, and therefore could not link gender directly to certain outcomes. Rather, the hope moving forward is that additional investigation can uncover more specifically which care patterns account for these improved outcomes and how to best apply the learnings for the betterment of all patients.

Leading up to your first job-search, you may be curious about how much physicians in your specialty make, what to look for in an offer, and how stay on top of your finances - not to mention other big life decisions. We’re here to help!

Every week, we curate the latest in career and lifestyle news to help you transition from full-time resident to full-time physician. Check out what articles have been trending this year with other residents.

Salary Trends
We Analyzed 35,000 Physician Salaries. Here’s What We Found
Here’s How Much Different Types of Doctors Are Paid
How are Physicians Doing Financially? 4 Surprising Stats and Trends
High Demand and Rising Salaries Await Young Physicians

How to Negotiate
Negotiate Salary on a Job Offer: Here's How to Make a Counteroffer — Gracefully
Things Doctors Should Consider Before Signing for a New Job
8 Contract Negotiation Strategies for Physicians

Personal Finance
The Financial Impact of Lifestyle: A Tale of Four Physicians
Invest Early or Pay off Your Student Debt?
5 Steps to Repay $1,000,000 in Med School and Mortgage Debt in 10 Years or Less
Who are the physicians who retire early?

Resident Life
The First Deadly Sin of Residents & Fellows
The 25 Best and Worst Cities for Doctors
What Happens When Millenials Become Doctors?

If you liked these articles visit your Doximity profile and update your 'Specialty' to “Resident” to opt in to our resident-only news digest. And if there are other newsworthy career topics you think we should cover, let us know at careermatch@doximity.com.

How to Opt In to the Resident News Digest

Today, we launched Doximity Dialer, a free app that makes it easier for physicians to call their patients. Through the app, clinicians can call patients on their personal cell phone, while displaying the number of their office, hospital, or any other number of their choice in the Caller ID.

“Our idea [for Doximity Dialer] is simple,” says Kanav Jain, Product Manager, Growth and Mobile Apps, ”easier communication leads to more communication, and greater communication leads to better health outcomes. We learned there are many reasons physicians, NPs, and PAs are hesitant about making calls using their cell phone and we wanted to help remove some of those barriers.”

We analyzed the current data from Doximity Dialer to provide you with information on how physicians are using the new app. The following statistics are from a sample of clinicians that are currently using Doximity Dialer.

“Very useful to call patients on the go. Option to pick multiple numbers like your clinic number, lab number, etc. which gives patients opportunity for a callback to the appropriate site if needed” - Hussein Bitar, MD

Using Doximity Dialer, clinicians can choose from multiple callback numbers which appear as the Caller ID when calling a patient. Many physicians work from a variety of locations, and hence, need to call different patients from a variety of numbers. From our sample, we found that 16% of clinicians currently using Doximity Dialer have more than one callback number.

“This app was easy to install and set up, and works great! Highly recommend if you make patient calls frequently.” - Irk93101

When you download Doximity Dialer, you setup your clinic or office number to appear in the caller ID (10 digit US numbers only). You can make calls to any US number a patient might use including landlines and cell phones.
*If you have previously asked your mobile carrier to permanently block your Caller ID, you will need to unblock it in order for Doximity Dialer to work.

“Easy set up & works like a charm. Many patients wouldn't answer *67 calls, but now respond with, "What are you doing in the office on a Saturday at 6:00 PM?" - gapac34

Doctors are less likely to place calls to patients outside of the office, and if they do, patients are unlikely to answer calls from an unfamiliar number or if the caller ID displays “Unknown.”

“Used it twice today...works well!” - Howard Luks, MD

We found that physicians using Dialer make an average of 3 unique calls through the app each day, with some making up to 30 calls on busy days.

Doximity Dialer also allows you to keep track of who you are calling, and when you’ve called them, through the “Recent Calls” button.

“Works as advertised, whether calling mobile or land lines. I tested with several cell phones and our office line showed up as expected. Very helpful product, especially for after hours calls to patients and their family.” - drrjv

In our sampling we found that over half (53%) of all calls through Dialer are placed between the hours of 5:00 PM - 11:00 PM. Despite these hours being outside of the typical 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM, physicians are still in need of communication with patients after the office closes. Healthcare never sleeps!

How other doctors are using Dialer

The Doximity Dialer – simplifying doctor to patient phone calls
“Know Your Resources” series — Featured App: Doximity Dialer

Download for free app in the App Store or Google Play. If you have any questions or feedback for Doximity Dialer, email support@doximity.com.

We are thrilled to announce we ranked 1st in San Francisco Bay Area region and 6th overall on Deloitte’s Technology Fast 500™, a ranking of the 500 fastest growing technology, media, telecommunications, life sciences and energy tech companies in North America. Doximity grew 14,350% percent during this period and, in just 5 years, we’ve grown to over 60% of physicians as members.

Our mission is, and will always be, to serve clinicians. Here are some of the everyday ways clinicians use Doximity:

Finding another physician when time really matters
“I was moonlighting at another hospital and responded to a code-blue. After initial resuscitation, I needed an urgent gastroenterology consultation. I quickly went to Doximity, searched for a gastroenterologist in the area and was able to contact the on-call physician for his group for the urgent consultation. It was much quicker and more efficient than a Google search!”- Faisal Anwar, MD

Communicating securely and simply
“Yesterday, I discussed the results of a patient’s CAT scan with a radiologist via his backline, then updated the patient’s nephrologist via text and received a cardiac clearance from the patient’s cardiologist via fax. All in 10 minutes.” - Andrew Tompkins, MD

Staying abreast of all the relevant clinical news
“I had patients worried about symptoms of menopause lasting multiple years, afraid they might have cancer or a psychological disorder. Fortunately, I was browsing Doximity DocNews one morning and there was an article on the topic that I was able to share with my patients and calm their fears.” - Victor Liou, MD

Managing their career and understanding the market
“I needed regional and national salary information to inform stakeholders during salary negotiations, and the data provided on Doximity made the conversation extremely straightforward.” - Athanasios Tsiatis, MD

Thank you to our members for the innovative ideas and continued inspiration. It's a privilege to serve you.

Dr. Nisha Mehta is a radiologist at W.G. (Bill) Heffner Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Charlotte, NC. This is how she works.

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Choose one word that best describes your work style

Multitasker. Obviously, I focus on the task at hand at any given moment. But overall in life, I need to be working on multiple things. If I’m not, I’m actually less efficient.

Favorite apps & software?

Recently, I’ve really taken to Twitter to be able to search for relevant news. Everyone’s rushing to discuss the latest news on it, and I enjoy hearing personal accounts and opinions before they’ve been shaped by the press, especially from people who may have different opinions from me. The fact that it’s financially in trouble is stressful to me!

What's your top time-saving tip at work?

Deal with things as they come. As a radiologist, I’m interrupted often. I find that if I don’t address an issue right away or dictate a report while a study is fresh in my mind, I duplicate a lot of work.

How does Doximity help you in your work as a clinician?

I love seeing curated articles across the various fields. It keeps me updated, and knowing what’s important and relevant to referring clinicians is essential to being a good radiologist.

You're currently a practicing radiologist at the VA, but previously spent time in academics. What was that transition like for you, and do you have any advice for those also looking to change their practice setting?

To be honest, the decision to leave academics was made for me - my husband (a plastic and reconstructive surgeon) had a great job opportunity in a city where there wasn’t a university hospital. After having two young children, we felt like the next job search had to revolve around what was best for our family (for both of us, not just me). In academics, it had been difficult for me to achieve a solid work life balance, and after the kids went to sleep, I found myself back at work, preparing lectures, responding to emails, and working on my research. I needed a step back from that to refocus on my other interests, although I’ll admit that I do miss academics, particularly teaching. Often now, I see a great case, and my instinct is to want to grab the trainees to share it. Fortunately, I have a great group of colleagues with whom to share cases, and we do so often. As far as the advice, I entertained job offers across the spectrum of radiology - from busy private practice settings to teleradiology. Ultimately, I wasn’t ready to give up face to face contact with patients and colleagues, but also wasn’t sure that having two full time private practice physician parents with frequent call and unpredictable schedules was best for my children. I asked for part time options, but the reality in, (at least our) local radiology job market, is that groups need people to share the call burden. The VA job came along at the last minute, giving me an opportunity to have a predictable lifestyle, see great cases, serve a wonderful patient population, and work with an intelligent, caring group of people, all without worrying about the evolving financial landscape of private practice. I jumped on it, and couldn’t be happier. Long story short, my advice is to prioritize what it is that you need out of a job, don’t assume that the best job is the one that’s most lucrative or the most academically prestigious, and reassess frequently if the job you have is right for you, as this may change as your life changes. Having a job that aligns with your professional interests while allowing you to live the life you want outside of medicine is priceless.

What is the biggest challenge for radiologists today?

I could go on forever about this, but I think it fundamentally comes down to providing value added radiology. Across the board, imaging volume is going up and reimbursement is going down, and radiologists are under increasing pressure to meet turnaround times and churn out more studies. Combined with the fact that the newer generation of physicians is more accustomed to looking at their own imaging and now have the technological capability to do so, there is a lot less interaction with the radiologist than there used to be. While this may seem like it’s more convenient for everyone involved, it detracts from the value a radiologist can add, often to the detriment of the patient. A face to face (or even phone) conversation will almost always be more informative, allowing the radiologist to understand the clinical scenario better and to specifically address the question at hand, as well as aiding the referring clinician in understanding the probability of each diagnosis listed in a differential and the appropriate next imaging steps, if any. It’s also important that the patients know the role of the radiologist in their care. I’m surprised how often non-clinical people don’t realize I’m a physician when I say I’m a radiologist. If we as a field don’t do more to promote our essential role in the system, we open up doors for technology or other specialties to take over our roles.

Who is someone you admire? Why?

Another question I could go on forever about! The current focus of my admiration is actually my 5-year-old son, who’s just started kindergarten and has developed a fascination with space. As he spits out factoids about astronomic units, dwarf planets, and the potential new ninth planet, I’m constantly in awe of how he uses basic building blocks of knowledge to extrapolate new theories and understand the world around him - often with connections that I myself don’t make! It’s a constant testament to the power of curiosity and the human brain.

Take us through an average day for you as a radiologist.

I surf the internet, work on mastering yoga poses, and usually leave work after lunch. NO! There’s this perception out there that radiologists have it easy. In reality, I read a ton of cases, do procedures ranging from joint injections to biopsies, and spend a lot of time on the phone with clinicians guiding imaging choices and discussing management. It’s a rare day that I eat lunch, or that I go more than 7 minutes without the phone ringing (yes, I’ve timed it).

How do you decompress?

Lately, I write. It’s great to process my thoughts on paper, and I’ve been writing about everything from medicine to my 2-year-old son’s pronunciation of the word ‘water.’ Even if most of it never gets published, it allows me to get things out of my system and put things in perspective — and by extension, usually reduces stress. Unless I’m writing about politics and health policy.

What are you currently reading?

I just finished The Rosie Project, a book club selection from a group of physician mothers that I’m in. Great read - flows smoothly and offers a unique insight into the world of Asperger’s. I read it in one sitting, and am excited to read book 2 in the series!

Do you have a favorite song?

I tend to listen to my favorite song of the moment on repeat until I can’t stand it anymore. It’s bad because consequently, few songs stick with me long term. Some that have though include Edwin McCain’s "I could not ask for more," the first dance song at my wedding, Toto’s "Africa," and a handful of Indian songs I grew up hearing.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?

Don’t take yourself so seriously. We are so groomed as physicians to project a certain persona, and to some extent, that’s essential to the job. But allowing yourself to laugh at your failures, take joy in the little or frivolous things, and keep things in perspective is key in this era of physician burnout.

Dr. Kevin Letz is a serial entrepreneur, healthcare executive and practicing nurse practitioner. He currently serves as Board Chair of two non-profits including Advanced Practice Provider Executives and American College of Nurse Practitioner Faculty. He co-founded Rounding Providers, allergiK, Clinicians Consulting, & a number of other healthcare companies. This is how he works.

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Choose one word that best describes your work style:

Flexible. I always try to keep an open mind to others ideas and always push toward finding better ways to do things.

What is your device of choice?

I have gravitated toward Apple products (albeit would be open to change) with an iPhone, MacBook Air and iPad which I end up using more for reading and entertainment.

Favorite apps & software?

My main medical apps include Epocrates, Doximity, UpToDate, and Epic Haiku. Our Epic system now populates the referring physician’s Doximity profile, which I love. I try to get away from paper whenever possible, so have several cloud storage apps and make use of a scanner and recycle bin frequently. I am not a big social media user except to check on what my kids might be up to.

Why did you want to become an NP, and what drew you to healthcare?

I was drawn to nursing given the variety of careers within the profession of nursing.

How does Doximity help you in your work as a clinician?

My primary use of Doximity is connecting with other clinicians and doing quick article reads. I have just started to experiment with the faxing feature and looking forward to possibly using Doximity for recruitment.

What’s your secret to staying productive?

I have learned to focus on the now a bit more and assuring my stress level stays in check. I find when I am highly stressed I spin my wheels more.

What do you wish you knew when you were a student?

The value of connections and learning from others, and that experiences provide greater knowledge than a textbook.

Who is your mentor?

Too many to name and they come from all different areas and backgrounds. If I had to name one today it would be my 16 year old daughter Miranda, who reminds me to stay true to who you are and not what others want you to be.

Although you're a practicing DNP, you're also a seasoned healthcare executive and entrepreneur. What was this transition like, and do you have any advice for those looking to explore the business side of healthcare?

I think the transition is like many others. Do something only if you enjoy it and once you choose to do it, there is a skill set that can be learned just like anything else. There is both an art and science behind management and leadership, just as there is in medicine.

How do you decompress?

I run and work out with intensity, which is wonderful for my mind and body, although not always my joints. And of course, spending time with those people I love.

Do you have a favorite song?

I like the song “Sail.” Don’t ask me what the words are or who sings it, but it’s the song I like to blast.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?

Shut up and listen.