How To Curb Physician Burnout For Good

Physician burnout is a long standing issue in the healthcare field. Healthcare requires investments not just physically but in other areas.

Since 2020, the rate of physician burnout has increased, understandably so. Multiple patients rushing in, all wanting to get adequate time with a physician who is also checking the time as there are many other patients waiting for their visits.

A burned out physician is more likely to be less detailed and may potentially overlook things that may cause harm or a slower paced recovery for a patient.

What do the statistics say about physician burnout?

In a research by Pamela Hartzband, M.D., and Jerome Groopman, M.D. it was found that this burnout challenge cannot be completely addressed without a focus on the competence and relatedness aspects. Most physicians have the intrinsic motivation to provide care competently, this often involves taking the time to relate with their patients and patiently address concerns. Physician-patient interaction is just as important to the physician as it is to the patients.

According to a Physician burnout and Depression report by Medscape 2022, 39% of the doctors said that a manageable work schedule would help them. 38% said increased compensation would help reduce burnout.

Shared medical visits

Virtual group visits or virtual shared medical visits are a very practical way to curb physician burnout for good. In a group visit, a physician can see multiple patients within 60-90 mins.

This allows patients to learn more from the physician and from experiences of other patients with similar conditions.

It reduces how much time a physician spends on individual visits.

It also directly affects how much mental attention a physician can give because they can comprehensively explain things to a group of patients with similar health conditions.

In a report by Dr. Bronson and Dr. Maxwell of the Cleveland Clinic, shared medical visits were found to have increased physician and patient satisfaction significantly. If as a physician, you find yourself repeating the same information to the different patients over and over, if may be worth exploring group visits.

Taking it a step further in light of the need for remote care, virtual group visits combine these benefits of shared medical visits and the virtual element.

Virtual group visits may offer physicians and patients increased satisfaction, improved outcomes with the benefits of more scheduling flexibility.

Could this be the solution we need to curb physician burn out for good?

Click here to learn more about Wellnesswits virtual group visit