Studies of physician burnout aren’t new, but for all the awareness of the last dozen years, the problem doesn’t get any better. An updated study summarized in the February 2020 issue of The American Journal of Medicine shows that physician burnout is a growing problem with implications for practitioner and patient health.
The article states that 44% of physicians feel burned out, and that 14% report suicidal thoughts, for which most do not seek treatment. Information technology-related stress tops the list of culprits, cited by 70% of survey respondents. The article explains that physicians are generally not satisfied with electronic medical record (EMR) systems, and that users spend more time on clerical tasks, adding to their feelings of burnout. Surprisingly, primary care physicians (PCPs) reportedly spend an average of two hours interacting with an EMR for every hour of patient contact, and 37% of patient appointment time is devoted to EMR interaction. The author also stated that the relationship between EMR time and burnout was very strong.
Physician burnout results in decreased productivity, affects physician health, can lead to worsened patient outcomes and satisfaction and can exacerbate the shortfall of physicians predicted for 2025.