The Hassle Factor

Let's talk about the hassle factor, and why that term doesn't even begin to cover what we're actually dealing with.

I'm coming into this episode a little fired up, and honestly, that's the point. In the last two weeks, I've been flooded with prior authorization requests for patients on GLP-1 medications. Patients who already have approval. Patients we know don't have coverage and have been paying cash. Patients whose prescriptions are not new. And yet, there it is, over and over in my inbox.

None of it required action. But I still had to look. Every. Single. Time. Because the consequence of missing one that actually matters? A patient doesn't get their medication.

That is not a hassle. That is moral injury stacked on top of administrative burden stacked on top of the very real risk of patient harm.

In this episode, we dig into what the hassle factor actually is, why physicians are leaving medicine because of it, and what we can do to take care of ourselves when we're living inside it.

Here's what we cover:

Why "hassle factor" is both useful and inadequate as a term, and what's really underneath it

The three-step process I use to move from reacting to responding when the system is piling on

Radical acceptance and what it does (and does not) mean

Why naming your emotions matters before you try to fix anything

How I personally handled a workplace policy I disagreed with, and what intentional non-participation looks like in practice

Why leaving medicine or your job is sometimes the right answer, and why you still want to do it from a clean, grounded place

The hassle factor is real. The moral injury is real. And you deserve to navigate all of it with your whole self intact.

Ready to get some support? Let's talk. Book a free discovery call at https://calendly.com/healthierforgood/coaching-discovery-call

Connect with Megan:
Instagram: @MeganMeloMD
Website: healthierforgood.com
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com