The Impact of Physician Burnout: Practical Strategies for Prevention
Image Source: Pexels
According to a Sept. 2022, article in The New York Times, only 30 percent of physicians feel satisfied at work. Physician burnout is becoming increasingly common, and it’s having a profound impact on the medical profession. But what is it really and how is it prevented?
Physician burnout is a state of physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion caused by prolonged stress and overwork. It’s a serious problem that’s impacting the medical profession, resulting in decreased job satisfaction, decreased productivity, and decreased quality of care.
Burnout can be caused by many different factors, including:
• Long working hours
• Lack of control over work circumstances
• Increased workloads
• Lack of recognition.
It’s a complex issue that is difficult to understand and diagnose, but it’s important to recognize the signs so that it can be addressed appropriately.
Common signs of physician burnout include:
• Fatigue
• Apathy
• Irritability
• Insomnia
• Feeling overwhelmed.
“The effects of physician burnout can be far-reaching,” said Hank Duffy, CEO of JHD Healthcare Partners, a management consulting firm that specializes in physician workload efficiency.
Professionally, it can lead to reduced job satisfaction, decreased productivity, and decreased quality of care. It can also lead to a decrease in patient satisfaction and a decrease in the number of patients a physician is able to care for
Physician burnout can have a negative impact on a physician’s personal life as well. It can lead to decreased physical and mental health, increased levels of stress, and even depression. In extreme cases, physician burnout can lead to burnout syndrome, which is a severe and debilitating form of burnout.
Strategies for preventing burnout
There are a number of strategies that can be used to prevent physician burnout.
“Providing access to resources for managing workloads helps reduce the amount of time spent on administrative tasks, as well as providing physicians with the tools they need to better manage their work,” said Duffy.
In addition, implementing policies that ensure adequate rest and breaks is important to reduce stress levels and give physicians the time they need to recharge.
Finally, providing convenient support for mental health is essential. This can include providing access to counseling, offering educational programs on stress management, and providing a space for physicians to share their concerns.
Reducing physician workloads
“While policies and providing mental health support are good strategies, the root cause of burnout is, ultimately, their workloads,” continues Duffy.
In today’s practices, many things fall on the shoulders of physicians requiring them to chart or respond to patient requests on the weekends. However, it is difficult to pinpoint exactly where the time is being spent to make practice-wide changes.
According to Duffy, JHDHP sees five common areas that provide the greatest relief to burnt-out physicians:
Better optimizing the EHR
Reengineering workflows
Training clinicians and staff
Improving physician-staff alignment
Implementing and regularly reviewing dashboards
“The list is extensive, but so is the prevalence of physician burnout. And, we need to support those who provide the health care to each of us,” concludes Duffy.
Are your physicians feeling the effects of burnout?
JHDHP, in conjunction with Forward Health, provides a datacentric approach to materially reduce physician workloads. If you’d like to learn more about our tool and how it can help to reduce physician burnout, schedule a demo today.