Zoning in on energy: How the healthcare industry is conserving & losing

4. Physicians are cutting down time with patients. Physicians must see more patients daily, due to increasing energy costs and decreasing reimbursements.

"Due to the rising energy costs and the reduction in reimbursements, there is a greater amount of concentration on reducing energy costs, which decreases the quality of patient care," says Stacy-Ann Smith, DC, of Abundant Living Chiropractic Center in Loxahatchee, Fla. "For example, the reduction in the amount of time spent with patients and the amount of resources the physician utilizes on patient care."