March 20, 2023 – Physician burnout is at an all-time high across the nation. The U.S. physician workforce has for many years been in short supply, and the stressors of the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the issue as the number of physicians leaving their career increases. Across the medical industry, organizations scramble to retain employees and fill open healthcare positions.
The Massachusetts Medical Society (MMS) conducted a survey to identify causes of stress that physicians experience in the workplace. The goal of the survey was to assess burnout and find ways to improve physician well-being in the state.
Stressors in the workplace physicians experience include increased healthcare documentation requirements, lack of support staff for non-medical tasks, turnover of clinical staff, increased visit lengths/elements, and prior authorization. These workplace stressors were not always an aspect of employment in healthcare, and have exponentially increased with the advent of technology in medicine, according to the MMS Physician Well-Being Report. These additional responsibilities overwhelm healthcare employees, and “overall, 55% of respondents experience symptoms that reached the threshold for burnout,” the report said.
Physicians are becoming so overwhelmed, they have started searching for new jobs, or have considered leaving the healthcare industry entirely. In fact, “50% of physicians have already reduced their clinical effort or are ‘definitely’ or ‘likely’ to reduce their clinical hours before June of 2023. About one in four plan to leave medicine in the next two years,” according to the report.
The results are consistent with the national physician burnout crisis throughout the healthcare industry.
Also observed is a need to address the concerns of specific demographic groups in healthcare. Trends were observed in certain groups that responded differently to specific survey categories. For example, more attention is needed with respect to occupational well-being of particular groups, including women physicians, physicians of color, underrepresented physicians, and younger physicians, according to MMS.