Because of the toll taken on the healthcare industry, various treatment and prevention strategies have been developed at individual, team, and organizational levels in hopes to seek the best method of addressing this epidemic.
Signs of burnout have even been traced back to medical students who have experienced disconnect between taught professional behaviors and those witnessed in practice.
With growing population in a country like India, the number of doctors remains grossly insufficient to strike this balance which leads to physician and resident fatigue ending up in medical errors and complications.
One study,[7] claimed that "We found that physicians with burnout had more than twice the odds of self-reported medical error, after adjusting for specialty, work hours, fatigue and work unit safety rating(...)" The healthcare landscape continues to evolve, and factors like an aging population,[9] physician shortage, change from volume-based care to value-based care,[10] Patients as customer[11] are some drivers of the change.
[16][14] Although the 4th Industrial Revolution is considered by many as a direct extension of the 3rd, the 4th differs due to the unprecedented volume and velocity of data and enhanced global interconnectivity.
Excessive data entry requirements, lack of interoperability, and notes geared toward billing tend to be the highest factors contributing to EHR-induced physician burnout.
The first groups together all job stressors such as imbalances caused by work demands while the second solely addressed individual strain in the form of anxiety and exhaustion.
[24] The progression of physician burnout takes a toll on the individual whether it be a medical student or practicing clinician mainly through adverse psychological affects that have lasting consequences.
[27] In a 24 month-long study performed at Mayo Clinic in 2016, found that burnout and low job satisfaction were associated with reductions in professional work effort.
There is no single solution to this issue, but easing student and physician workload and promoting wellness and resilience in the medical field has been shown to help.
[34] Friends and family often feel the burden when interacting with burned-out clinicians since most of these individuals will be disengaged and can exhibit symptoms of major depressive disorder.
Physician-oriented approaches ranged from cognitive behavioral techniques (CBT) such as meditation and coping strategies to professional coaching which aimed at reinforcing individual resilience.
Gazelle, Liebschutz, and Riess discussed the benefits of physician coaching as being able to cater to each provider using his or her own previous experiences therefore personalizing the intervention as opposed to CBT which delivers treatment in a standardized manner.
On the other hand, Dr. Kelly speaks of how altering perception of patients from chores and potential litigation sources to opportunities to heal is key to the reversal of burnout.
However, some research suggests that a combination of individual, team, and organization approaches is the only way to address all levels of burnout and successfully put an end to this epidemic.
[37] The entire health care system requires transformational change[38][39][40] and organizational approaches have shown much promise as successful treatment options by reducing workloads and distributing more flexible schedules among employees.
[41] Other examples of team approaches are the implementation of honest discussions between caregivers to emphasize compassion as well as organization-wide events to enhance workforce well-being.
This project was modelled after the Hawaii Pacific hospital's getting rid of stupid stuff in the EHR(GROSS)[42] Some organizations are outsourcing services, like medical scribing, to relieve the documentation burden on physicians and free up time.