Six strategies to mitigate provider burnout

A shrinking workforce with many caregivers leaving the healthcare sector, excessive workloads and long hours have taken a toll on the entire healthcare industry. Provider burnout is a workplace condition that has extended well beyond the height of COVID-19. Mitigating its effects requires a team effort and support from staff at every level of today’s healthcare organizations. Here are six strategies to mitigate provider burnout in your organization.

Vacation/PTO

Rest is vital to the longevity of physicians and advanced practice providers (APPs). Rest includes not only 7-8 hours of sleep per day, but also mental rest, spiritual rest, and social and emotional rest. It is essential that organizations coordinate their efforts to encourage staff to get the rest they need to renew themselves to perform at their best in support of their patients. This can include taking days off, half days, vacation time, and various types of mental and physical exercise programs.

Optimizing workflows

Maximize your electronic medical records (EMR) and other technology resources as efficiently and effectively as possible to give staff the best opportunities for success in their roles. It is essential to use technology like voice recognition to give providers more back time so they don’t have to focus on small tasks and can use this time to do other personal or professional activities . Optimizing the processes established to practice at the peak of their license will allow providers more time to focus on the patient and work within their scope, without wasting time on non-critical tasks that other members of the care team may perform.

Ensure good work-life integration, not work-life balance

Work is an integral part of a doctor’s and APP’s life. It should not be a negative force competing for these employees’ time. Develop an organizational culture that fosters camaraderie with the team to achieve a sense of camaraderie and shared loyalty among physician colleagues and APPs so that work is more meaningful and they feel connected to the exceptional work they do. Companionship, social connectedness, and positive and supportive peer relationships are vital components of engagement, satisfaction, and well-being. Creating connections can allow for a better personal understanding of colleagues and build engagement, a positive work environment and a sense of community in the workplace.

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It is important to continually show gratitude to the healthcare workforce; design a recognition program that rewards staff for their hard work and dedication. A well-designed recognition program will help employees achieve that sense of pride and motivation in their daily work. Being recognized for hard work helps create an exciting environment, alleviates stress and stimulates staff to continue to achieve at their highest level. Rounding and listening leadership is an important component of recognizing individuals and teams.

Provider-to-patient support program

Implement a physician-to-physician program that will reinforce the provider-patient relationship and make it stronger than ever. These can be personal, conversational – not transactional – calls that are treated the same way you might check in with a friend you haven’t called in a while. There is no waiting beyond the control, showing our patients that we care. A growing number of studies suggest that health care professional burnout is often associated with poor quality of care and less optimal patient outcomes.

Provider Governance/Autonomy

By implementing progressive workforce innovations, such as creating a provider-led governance structure and office of professional wellness, you can demonstrate that supporting and empowering your workforce can have a profound impact on improving the provider experience , creating a dynamic partnership between provider and administration, and improving the delivery of health care to patients. A governance structure allows providers to use their voice to make a difference, have autonomy, create system and process change, align clinical program development, and play a vital role in making operational and clinical decisions that advise the leadership of your organization. Studies suggest that providing a variety of resources to promote autonomy and encourage system change when needed improves the overall well-being of your physician and PPA workforce.

By increasing provider autonomy, your organization can achieve the ultimate goal of reducing provider burnout. To that end, a reduced number of clinical patient contact hours and convenience hours—allowing providers to flex their hours—can be factored into the provider’s compensation model. The senior management team can work to support providers and staff so they can care for their patients. If necessary, consider creating additional staff positions to support weak positions. This should not be limited to physicians and APPs, but any role in a position to support your organization’s desired areas of growth – finance; patient safety; quality; operations; innovation; health equity; provider, staff and patient experience; Organizational behavior – everyone plays an important role in driving a system forward.

Raki Pai, MD, is the president, medical group and chief population health officer at University of Michigan Health-West. He is a physician executive and innovator in payer contracting, value-based care and medical group governance.

Peter Hahn, MD, is the executive director of University of Michigan Health-West. He is a Mayo Clinic-trained physician executive who is passionate about system quality, innovation, corporate governance, and physician leadership.

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