HealthDay News — According to a report released by Medical Economics, more physicians are dealing with serious personal and professional consequences due to stress and burnout.
Burnout rates among physicians are much higher than in the general population, with burnout most prevalent in physicians on the “front-line of care.” Physicians in the fields of emergency medicine, family medicine, and general internal medicine are at the highest risk. In a survey of more than 7,000 physicians, nearly half reported at least 1 symptom of burnout.
According to the report, burnout can have serious personal and professional consequences for physicians if left unaddressed. Burnout can contribute to failure of relationships, substance abuse, and suicidal ideation. Burnout is also associated with disruptive behavior, increased medical errors, reduced patient satisfaction, and increased risk of malpractice, and also affects quality of care and patient outcomes. The education system has likely contributed to burnout by neglecting to focus on the development of social, leadership, and teamwork skills that physicians need.
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In addition, current changes in medicine resulting from health care reform have contributed to burnout, with physicians citing too many bureaucratic tasks, too many hours at work, insufficient income, increasing computerization, and the impact of the Affordable Care Act as causes of burnout. Physician burnout can be evaluated by surveying staff anonymously and soliciting ideas for workplace improvement.
“Spreading awareness, educating staff, and providing resources is an ideal place to begin,” according to the report.
Reference
What Is The Price Of Physician Stress And Burnout?. Medical Economics website. Updated July 13, 2016. Available at: http://medicaleconomics.modernmedicine.com/medical-economics/news/what-price-physician-stress-and-burnout. Accessed September 8, 2016.
