How do we create an environment that is rewarding and healthier for clinicians, preventing emotional exhaustion and increasing personal accomplishment at work?
Clinician burnout is a significant threat to the vitality of a health system and the quality of a patient's care. Due to increased administrative demands, complex reporting requirements, continued pressure on resources, and constant drive to improve throughput, clinicians are experiencing stress and compassion fatigue. This experience is becoming more widespread, with 51% of physicians reporting 1+ symptom of burnout (a 25% increase over the past 4 years) and 49% of Registered Nurses (RNs) under the age of 30 and 40% of RNs over 30 experiencing burnout. Health systems in turn incur and adverse impact on profitability through direct measures such as productivity and turnover ($800k, $82k to replace a physician and nurse, respectively) in addition to the impact on quality, and patient experience. This challenge has grown in attention, as 91% of health system leaders believe improving well-being is critical to the success of their organizations.
- Clinician burnout is a widespread problem that can undermine the ability of systems to serve their patients, members, and communities
- There is no "silver bullet" to address the issue. Solutions require changes across many dimensions including organizational culture, workflow and technology
- With substantive impacts on all three areas of the Triple Aim, the experience of the clinician has come to garner substantive interest among health system leaders, including AVIA network members.
