Fix the system to address physician burnout

The prevalence of burnout among physicians is estimated to be more than 50 percent and has grown in recent years. This alarming trend is largely due to changing patient demographics, increasing cost constraints, new federal and state regulations, and other external factors that have reshaped the daily work experience of physicians. Too often today, physicians spend more time on data entry than in direct patient care. Professional burnout, as it has been defined by researchers, is a response to stress in the workplace. It consists of three components: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization or cynicism, and a low sense of personal accomplishment in one’s work. It is caused by a “mismatch” between the worker and the workplace in one or more of six domains: workload, control, reward, community, fairness, and values. Burnout among physicians has significant negative consequences, including effects on patient safety, quality of care, the patient experience, and personal costs to the individual physician: depression, substance use, suicide. It also affects health care organizations and our health care system as a whole, as physicians choose to cut back on clinical hours, retire early, or leave clinical practice for other careers. Effectively addressing burnout requires an understanding of its true causes — just as an accurate diagnosis of respiratory distress is essential to effective treatment. Despite the fact that the cause is quite often systemic, frequently...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - Category: General Medicine Authors: Tags: Physician Health IT Hospital-Based Medicine Primary Care Psychiatry Source Type: blogs