Physician burnout is at an extremely high rate. Doctors and nurses everywhere are expected to keep up with management changes, new hospital mandates, technology in procedures, all the while keeping their clinical care first-class. I’ve read countless articles (here, here and here) about predictions that the burnout rate will rise. In 2014, in a survey by Mayo Clinic, they found that more than half of US physicians are experiencing professional burnout.
What is going wrong? What is causing physicians to burn out so quickly? More importantly, why aren’t they getting the support they need?
Some healthcare organizations are developing programs that allow physicians to receive one-on-one individual care, encouraging strong work-life balance and finding more fulfillment and satisfaction in their current role. You’ve all heard the saying, “you can’t give from an empty vessel.” Physicians need care too. Programs are providing physicians the opportunity to acquire better leadership skills and ultimately, provide better patient care.
What about organizations that don’t have these programs in place?
There are two major complaints in healthcare relating to physician and patents. The first being dissatisfaction with the amount of time spent with face-to-face care. The second is: an aversion to Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) or Electronic Health Records (EHRs) due to their burdensome and complex nature.
Most likely, if one of these problems is solved, the other would be solved as well.
EMRs/EHRs cause a significant amount of distress. According to a study in Annals of Internal Medicine, physicians are now spending more time in front of a computer than in front of a patient. Almost 50% of their time is allocated to updating and searching through EHRs, where less than a quarter is spent on patients.
Improving EMRs and EHRs could significantly reduce the amount of time that is spent navigating and allow physicians to focus more of their time on face-to-face care, resulting in a higher patient and physician satisfaction. The whole reason that EHRs were developed in the first place was to allow for better, higher quality patient care. Our doctors are turning into glorified secretaries. The EMR/EHR is the main contributor, stealing their attention from the sole reason they entered the profession.
Imagine if these numbers could be flipped. If less than a quarter of their time was spent in front of a computer, updating records and searching through patient files, while the rest of their time could be devoted to bettering the lives and health of their patients.
Extract’s intelligent automated data capture and document classification platform has allowed healthcare organizations across the world solve this very problem. To reduce the physician and nurse burn out rate by allowing them to feel more satisfied in their positions and patients to feel more secure in the care they are provided with.
Your care is only as good as your EMR/EHR allows you to be.
To learn more about this topic, read other blogs like these: Where Did All the Nurses Go? or The Three Bears and Healthcare Data.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: KARI SIEGENTHALER
Kari Siegenthaler is a Marketing Specialist for the Marketing Department at Extract. Kari attained her Bachelor of Arts degree in mass communications and convergent media at the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire. Wearing the “hat of all trades,” she has an unusual, hybrid ability to write narratives, creatively craft meaningful messages, and design graphically compelling images. Kari is passionate about effective communication and developing strategy plans that allow Extract to succeed and excel way beyond their goals.