Doctor Burnout Leads to Poor Care

Investigators analyzed data concerning nearly 42,500 doctors from around the world and found that physicians who were overworked or overstressed were 1.9 times more likely to have a patient safety incident, such as a medication error or a miscommunication about treatment that placed the patient at risk. Furthermore, these doctors were 2.3 times more likely to act unprofessionally or receive poor satisfaction marks from their patients. Dr. Cynthia Smith, the vice president for clinical programs with the American College of Physicians, explains that paperwork is a leading cause of burnout for doctors of all ages, and the advent of electronic health records has made things worse rather than better. The findings suggest that efforts to reduce paperwork and ease doctors’ administrative burden could help reduce burnout. JAMA Internal Medicine, September 2018