Abstract
BackgroundPhysician burnout refers to depersonalization, emotional exhaustion, and a sense of lower personal accomplishment. Affecting approximately 50% of physicians in the United States, physician burnout negatively impacts both the physician and patient. Over a 3-year-period, this prospective study evaluated the multidisciplinary approach to decreasing provider burnout and improving provider well-being in our metropolitan community.MethodsA multidisciplinary Well-Being Task Force was established at our Institution in 2017 to assess the myriad factors that may play a role in provider burnout and offer solutions to mitigate the stressors that may lead to decreased provider well-being. Four multifaceted strategies were implemented: (1) provider engagement & growth; (2) workflow/office efficiencies; (3) relationship building; and (4) communication. Providers at our Institution took the Mayo Clinic’s well-being index survey on 3 occasions over 3 years. Their scores were compared to those of providers nationally at baseline and at 1 and 2 years after implementing organizational and individualized techniques to enhance provider well-being. Lower well-being index scores reflected better well-being.ResultsThe average overall well-being index scores of our Institution’s providers decreased from 1.76 at baseline to 1.32 2 years later compared to an increase in well-being index scores of physicians nationally (1.73 to 1.85). Both male and female providers’ average well-being index scores at our Institution decreased over the 3 years of this study, from 1.72 to 1.58 for males and 1.78 to 1.21 for females, while physicians’ scores nationally increased for both genders. The average well-being index scores were highest for providers at our Institution who graduated from medical school less than 5 years earlier (2.0) and who graduated 15–24 years earlier (2.3), whereas the average lowest scores were observed in providers who graduated ≥25 years earlier (1.37). Obstetricians/gynecologists and internal medicine physicians had the highest average well-being index scores (2.48 and 2.4, respectively) compared to other medical specialties. The turnover rate of our Institution’s providers was 5.6% in 2017 and 3.9% in 2019, reflecting a 30% decrease.ConclusionThis study serves as a model to reduce provider burnout and enhance well-being through both organizational and individual interventions.
Highlights
Physician burnout refers to depersonalization, emotional exhaustion, and a sense of lower personal accomplishment
A multidisciplinary Well-Being Task Force was established in July 2017 at our Institution to evaluate the various factors that may play a role in provider burnout and offer solutions to mitigate the stressors that may lead to decreased provider well-being (Table 1)
Average provider overall well-being index scores at our Institution compared to U.S physician average nationally The average overall well-being index scores of our Institution’s providers decreased from 1.76 at baseline to 1.32 2 years later compared to an increase in well-being index scores of ≥14,900 U.S physicians nationally (1.73 to 1.85) (Table 4)
Summary
Physician burnout refers to depersonalization, emotional exhaustion, and a sense of lower personal accomplishment. Physician burnout is a work-related syndrome characterized by emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced sense of personal accomplishments that affects 50% of physicians in the United States [1,2,3,4,5,6,7]. Physician burnout is often associated with lower patient satisfaction and care quality, adverse patient health outcomes, higher medical error rates with an increased risk of malpractice, decreased work productivity, and increased provider turnover [4, 6,7,8,9,10,11,12]. $4.6 billion in costs related to physician turnover and reduced clinical hours is attributable to burnout annually in the United States which represents approximately $7600 per employed physician each year [16]. It has been reported that physicians are more likely to have symptoms of burnout and to be dissatisfied with work-life balance compared to working US adults [4]
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