How Care Management Tools Can Mitigate Clinician Burnout

Healthcare staffing shortages exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic have intensified an already serious problem in healthcare: clinician burnout. An American Medical Association (AMA) national survey of nearly 21,000 healthcare professionals shows nearly half (49%) reported at least one symptom of burnout, while 43% said they suffered from work overload. The costs of clinician burnout are steep. A 2019 study estimated that physician burnout costs the U.S. healthcare industry $4.6 billion annually, mostly through clinician turnover and a reduction of clinical hours.

Subsequently, there are the personal and professional costs. Clinicians with burnout may exhibit multiple symptoms, including low energy, exhaustion, compassion fatigue, insomnia, irritability, alcohol and drug abuse, and a lack of purpose in their jobs. Clinician burnout also can impact the quality of care because physicians under physical and emotional duress are more prone to making mistakes, leading to poorer outcomes, and increasing the risk of malpractice exposure.

The time crunch resulting from high patient demand for services and a severe shortage of clinical professionals is also of concern, neither of which shows signs of abating soon. A 2017 study found that the average patient visit with a primary care clinician ran just over 15 minutes and often covered up to a half-dozen health issues. Worse, clinicians typically spend large chunks of that valuable patient time trying to find or enter data on a digital screen.