Physician burnout is a serious problem. A physician lifestyle survey in 2015 found that over 46% of physicians indicated that they were experiencing burnout. This issue does not just have an effect on the doctor experiencing it, but it also affects the quality of care that patients receive and, potentially, the future of the practice entirely.
The Consequences of Physician Burnout
Before we dive into how physician burnout can be prevented, we’re going to discuss why it is such a bad thing. Burnout leads to:
- Low patient satisfaction rates
- Poor patient care quality
- An escalated number of medical error rates
- High malpractice risk
- Increased physician and staff turnover rates
- Potential drug abuse and alcohol addiction
More worryingly, physician burnout can also be fatal. Suicide rates for male and female physicians are higher than the general population average and widely under-reported.
The Three Signs of Physician Burnout
The most commonly accepted standards for burnout were developed in the 1970s, and there are three core symptoms:
- Exhaustion: Low physical and emotional energy levels.
- Depersonalization: Cynicism, sarcasm and the need to vent about patients and work constantly.
- Lack of Efficacy: Doubting the quality and meaning of work.
The 7 Steps to Prevent Burnout in Your Practice
The American Medical Association lays out 7 key steps to stop your nurses and doctors from experiencing burnout.
- Use wellness as a quality indicator for your practice to see how your doctors and nurses are doing.
- Create a wellness group (if you have a large practice) or select a wellness coordinator (if you have a small practice) who can promote wellness resources available to physicians and model positive behaviors.
- Offer every employee an annual wellness survey that is a good indicator of whether or not an individual might be struggling with burnout.
- Meet regularly with other leaders in your practice to discuss potential interventions and survey results.
- Don’t be afraid to initiate selective interventions to address burnout as you identify parts of your practice that might aggravate it. Communication, workflow and facility improvements could all be completed during this step.
- After your interventions have been in place for some time, offer your survey again to see if stress and burnout levels have decreased.
- Using your data, continue to refine interventions and improve your practice.
Partner with Vetters Enterprises for Help Taking Your Practice to the Next Level
Vetters Enterprises specializes in practice management, private practice business support and revenue cycle optimization. We can perform in-depth assessments of your practice or facility and identify potential issues. Let us keep your business as healthy as you keep your patients! Give us a call at (443) 352-0088.