Certain programs and intervention techniques may be able to address the issue of physician burnout, according to researchers from the Division of General Internal Medicine at Hennepin County Medical Center.
34 primary clinics participated in the study to see if work-life interventions could improve physician satisfaction and burnout percentage. Half of the clinics participated in one of three intervention techniques, while the other 17 clinics acted as the control group. Those in the work-life intervention group participated in one of the following techniques:
- Improved communication, particularly among clinicians and staff
- Changes in workflow
- Targeted quality improvement projects that addressed specific clinician concerns
Physicians were polled at baseline and between 12 and 18 months on a number of factors that contribute to burnout, including:
- Self reported stress levels
- Intent to leave
- Overall satisfaction
- Perceptions of work conditions, such as time pressure, work control, work-home balance, chaotic environments and organizational culture
A total of 135 physicians across 32 clinics completed the survey.
Intervention Results
After looking at the data, researchers uncovered that the burnout rate across all clinics was 37 percent. In the intervention group, burnout rates initially averaged 41.4 percent, but that number fell to 33.8 percent by the end of the study. Conversely, physicians in the control group averaged a burnout rate of 30.1 percent at the beginning of the study, but with no intervention techniques, the burnout rate grew to 32.8 percent by the end of the study.
Dr. Mark Linzer, who worked on the study, said modifying workflow and scheduling options improved physician burnout rates.
“Our most powerful intervention was workflow modification, such as reassigning clinic staff work and changing call schedules,” said Linzer. Dr. Linzer added that the next strongest invention strategy was communication improvement, especially between staff. “This involves, for example, conducting meetings focused on topics with meaning for clinicians, such as clinical cases and issues of clinic worklife.”
Additionally, 23 percent of doctors in the intervention group reported higher overall satisfaction levels at the conclusion of the study, compared to only a 10 percent increase in the control group.
“We focused on interventions that might improve clinicians’ work-life balance or their work experiences,” said Dr. Linzer. “The next step is to determine how much of this impact is transmitted to patients.”
Dr. Silverman comments
Physician burnout is a real problem, and I’m glad more research is being done to better learn how to combat the issue. Physicians are constantly under pressure, so any techniques that can improve communication and patient outcomes are supremely important. If physicians are constantly burning out or leaving, management should consider workflow modifications and improvements in staff communication.
Orthopaedic surgeons are at even greater risk for burnout that other medical professions. According to another recent study, “burnout rates among orthopaedic surgeons are in the range of 50-60%, higher than surgeons in general (range: 30-40% for surgeons in general), with the highest rate (emotional exhaustion and depersonalization scores) among orthopaedic residents, followed by department chairs, followed by faculty members. Both objective factors (caseload, practice setting, etc.) and subjective factors (perception that career was unrewarding, perception of lack of autonomy, etc.) contribute to burnout; however, subjective factors show a stronger correlation.”
In that study, the authors concluded that even though orthopaedic surgeon rates were among the highest in the field, “little work has been preformed” to rectify this situation.
Related source: Medscape, Second Study by: Arora M, Diwan AD, Harris IA, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. z3188840@unsw.edu.au
