Reducing Clinician Burnout With Better Care Management Tools

For many provider organizations, one way to address burnout begins with making clinicians’ lives easier by giving them the right technology to seamlessly access critical patient data at the point of care. Fueled by staffing shortages and pandemic-related strain, burnout is a growing problem that exacts a heavy personal and professional toll on clinicians and further taxes an already stressed workforce.

A recent survey by the American Medical Association of more than 20,000 U.S. healthcare workers reveals the extent of the problem: 49% reported at least one symptom of burnout, while 43% said they suffered from work overload. Researchers found higher levels of stress among women and people from Black and Latinx communities. Greater levels of stress and burnout were associated with fear of COVID-19 exposure or transmission, with self-reported anxiety and depression, or work overload.

Not surprisingly, healthcare workers are experiencing these high levels of burnout as the existing workforce continues to thin. Employment in the healthcare sector is down by 460,000 since February 2020, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. A report from Morning Consult found that 18% of healthcare workers have quit their jobs during the pandemic, while another 12% have been laid off.