Physician burnout is a huge problem plaguing more than half of doctors today, according to certain studies.
Aside from the health risks to the doctors themselves, this is a problem that is now affecting patients directly, with burnout leading to a higher likelihood of medical errors.
But one study, published in the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine, revealed an interesting detail about burnout.
Dr. Donna Shelley and her colleagues from NYU School of Medicine found that while about 55 percent of doctors overall reported burnout, a much small number relatively – only 13.5 percent – of doctors from small, independent primary care practice in New York City reported the same.
What is it about a small practice that could correlate to lower instances of burnout? Dr. Daniel Tawfik of Stanford University School of Medicine theorizes that the “ability of any organization’s leadership to react to physician input may be a key driver of burnout.” Smaller practices can achieve this easier than a large organization and that could be a relevant finding.
Of course, smaller practices could mean more responsibilities for physicians, especially if it doesn’t have an adequate support staff to take care of administrative tasks.
Electronic health record (EHR) documentation, in particular, could be important in the battle against burnout as well. A recent study in JAMA Internal Medicine stated that the support of a medical scribe who can ease the burden of EHR documentation could have a big effect on physicians’ well-being.
The study found that periods where doctors were assigned with scribes were associated with decreased EHR documentation work after hours.
It also saw 94 percent of physicians involved in the study claiming greater job satisfaction during the same scribed periods.
Each new piece of information – like the effects of practice size or medical scribes – could be valuable. Each new study is a step in understanding how to solve this current physician burnout crisis at the soonest possible time.
Need administrative or other documentation help for your independent practice? Get in touch with TukkoMed to find out how delegation of work can help your business grow – or ease the burden on your physicians.
SOURCES:
“Physician burnout a key driver of medical errors.” Reuters, 11 July 2018, Web.
“Medical scribes could temper physician burnout, EHR burden.” Clinical Innovation + Technology, 18 September 2018, Web.
https://www.clinical-innovation.com/topics/ehr-emr/medical-scribes-physician-burnout-ehr-burden