#13 Physician wellness, burnout, and Clinical Informatics. Get well and avoid the 54 percent

September 12, 2016 | By Matthew Watto, MD

Fifty four percent of physicians report at least one symptom of burnout. On this episode Dr. Philip Kroth an Internist and Chief of Clinical Informatics from the University of New Mexico schools us on how electronic health records (EHR) relate to burnout and tips to promote physician wellness. Miss this episode and you might get burned…out. I refuse to apologize for that pun. Enjoy! 

Clinical Pearls:

*Check out the article by Shanafelt below to view breakdown of burnout by specialty.

*24/7 access to EHRs is a double-edged sword. You have to protect your own time.

*Turn off email alerts.

*Limit your screen time when off the clock. Kids are only allowed 1 hour per day!

*Take the EHR training and become a MASTER.

*Keep in mind these four domains related to burnout and try to mitigate your risk.

1. Health information technology and documentation burden
2. Stress versus control and support. You need to balance the “seesaw”
3. Health policy and regulation (e.g. ACOs, MACRA)
4. Physician culture of endurance (e.g. giving yourself an IV when sick instead of going home)

Disclosures:
None reported.

Links from the Show:

1. Article by Shanafelt finding burnout in 54 percent of physicians.
Changes in Burnout and Satisfaction With Work-Life Balance in Physicians and the General US Working Population Between 2011 and 2014 Shanafelt, Tait D. et al. Mayo Clinic Proceedings , Volume 90 , Issue 12 , 1600 – 1613

2. Turnover of primary care doctors cost about $250,000 in 1991!
Buchbinder, SB et al. Estimates of Costs of Primary Care Physician Turnover. Am J Manag Care. 1999 Nov;5(11):1431-8.

3. Maslach Burnout Inventory
http://www.mindgarden.com/117-maslach-burnout-inventory

4. Volkswagen stops sending emails in the evening.
http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-16314901
New Episode!