30 Mar How Overhauling Patient Records Can Curb Physician Burnout

Source: University of Florida News

Judges don’t do court stenography. CEOs don’t take minutes at meetings. So why do we expect doctors and other health care providers to spend hours recording notes — something experts know contributes to burnout?

“Having them do so much clerical work doesn’t make sense,” said Lisa Merlo, Ph.D., an associate professor of psychiatry and director of wellness programs at the University of Florida College of Medicine.  “In order to improve the health care experience for everyone, we need to help them focus more on the actual practice of medicine.”

Physician burnout affects patients, too. Stressed doctors are less compassionate and more likely to make mistakes. Clinicians who leave the field or cut back hours reduce patient access to care, and replacing doctors in the midst of a physician shortage drives up costs.

“We can’t ignore burnout and expect doctors to just keep picking up the slack,” Merlo said.

Electronic health records — or EHRs — have enabled better, faster and more accurate communication among health care providers. But the time required to populate them can mean less interaction with patients and more time after hours typing notes, which can be more driven by insurance requirements than usefulness in patient care.

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