Three Ways Technology Can Help Alleviate Physician Burnout

Cofounder and Chief Medical Officer at PlushCare, a virtual medical care platform.

Physician burnout has been a critical issue in the U.S. for decades. Just five years ago, 43% of physicians reported experiencing burnout, and the pandemic further exacerbated this issue with nearly 63% of physicians now reporting burnout. As we look for ways to improve our healthcare systems and move forward from the pandemic, we must consider approaches to alleviate the symptoms of burnout before the issue becomes even more severe.

Although burnout can take many forms, such as feeling overworked and less motivated, in some cases, it can lead to quitting the profession entirely. In fact, throughout the pandemic, about 18% of healthcare workers resigned from their careers—put another way, that’s nearly 1 in 5. As many healthcare workers make an exodus from the profession, 79% of the remaining physicians say that staffing “shortages have affected them and their workplace,” mainly due to increased workloads.

Burnout in the healthcare industry can also impact patient outcomes, as physicians could be more prone to making mistakes. The results of a National Library of Medicine study found that 70% of physicians who reported making a major medical error believed the cause was an individual (not system) factor such as burnout, which could have led to the oversight. Burnout can also negatively impact physicians’ health, too, and in some cases, it can even lead to higher rates of alcoholism and mental health complications.

As a practicing physician and a chief medical officer working with physicians every day, I understand the impact of burnout and the need to tackle this issue. I’ve observed a few technology-driven solutions that have helped alleviate some of this burnout while empowering physicians to get back to why they entered this field: to care for patients.

1. On-Demand Scheduling Around Physician Well-Being

Given that the healthcare worker shortage is a major driver in physician burnout, it’s time to get more creative with staffing. Similar to telehealth’s on-demand scheduling capabilities for patients, physicians should also have a say in their day-to-day schedule, and a pooled staffing approach is one way to do that.

Through this approach, physicians who aren’t regularly scheduled can call in to pick up additional shifts as needed, giving physicians who want to work part time an opportunity to support patients. This also makes it easier to fill shifts that may be short-staffed due to a physician being sick or needing to tend to their personal lives. Being able to cover large geographies and fill in for colleagues as needed is one benefit of telemedicine, by which physicians can cover multiple states at once.

Additionally, working a full day with patients and dealing with administrative work in the evenings may not be sustainable for most physicians. At some digital health organizations, physicians can choose their own schedule: Some may want to work a few hours in the morning and then a few more after dinner, or some may like odd hours overnight or on weekends. This schedule flexibility works really well in the telehealth world and gives physicians control, something they’ve long lacked.

2. Reducing Administrative Burdens With Customized Electronic Health Records

In the last decade, healthcare systems have largely transitioned to electronic health records, or EHRs, to enhance patient care and offer more tools for physicians. Although this innovation stemmed from a desire to produce higher-quality care for patients, EHRs can also support the overall well-being of physicians if it’s made a focus for them.

EHRs, if designed well, diminish extra administrative burdens for physicians and allow for a more personalized experience based on the physician’s current work. Rather than logging a patient’s signs and symptoms by hand, EHRs can collect patient information for physicians and even offer suggestions to better diagnose patients or recommend evidence-based treatment. Customization provides unique opportunities to deliver workflow efficiency, which increases patient access while mitigating physician burnout and ultimately providing more accurate and useful health data.

With ongoing reports of burnout and the need for a better work-life balance, EHR systems also implement built-in feedback forms for physicians to document common patient issues or personal complaints to ensure a better system. A well-designed EHR system supports and simplifies data and patient management.

3. Providing Support And Fostering Connection

The final key to unlocking physician well-being lies in building a supportive community—and this can be virtual. As physicians recover from the trauma they faced throughout the pandemic, mental health becomes a critical issue in the workforce. Meanwhile, the stigma for physicians seeking mental health resources is continuing to rise.

Providing a community for physicians to confide in each other and resources for those coping with negative patient outcomes is crucial when only about one-third of physicians feel that their workplace is helpful when it comes to their well-being. One way to do this is by opening avenues for physicians to connect with one another online through chat rooms or online forums. By sharing their successes and challenges, they can gain support and learn from one another.

A surprising outcome of building a physician community is being able to chat between appointments, share cases and teach each other through digital means. One physician recently remarked to me that she feels closer to her colleagues who are spread around the country than she ever did at her brick-and-mortar group practice where all physicians were in the same building!

Although these solutions can help alleviate burnout, it’s essential to recognize that combatting burnout will be an ongoing effort for our workforce. As chronic conditions and mental health symptoms both continue to rise, healthcare organizations will only encounter a higher volume of patients. Although this will continue to put pressure on our medical system, tirelessly addressing burnout head-on with these strategies is key.

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