Reducing Physician Burnout Through Workflow Redesign: A Quality-Improvement Initiative.

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Occupational Health
• Clinical Workflow Optimization

Background:

• Staff well-being is crucial for high-quality healthcare delivery.
• Physician burnout is frequently linked to excessive administrative duties and inefficient workflows.
• Huntington Hospital identified clerical workload, particularly electronic health records (EHRs) and manual documentation, as a major stressor for hospitalists.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the impact of administrative burden on hospitalist burnout.
• To implement evidence-based strategies to improve staff well-being.
• To redesign the workflow for the 3122 discharge form to reduce physician workload.

Main Methods:

• Administered the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) to hospitalists to evaluate burnout levels.
• Formed a multi-disciplinary wellness learning community to identify workflow improvements.
• Collaborated with social work and case management to reallocate tasks for the 3122 form, integrating electronic medical record (EMR) data.

Main Results:

• Workload was identified as the primary driver of burnout among hospitalists (83% MBI response rate).
• Following workflow redesign, 76% of hospitalists reported a reduced workload.
• 76% of hospitalists supported continued collaboration for future well-being initiatives.

Conclusions:

• Targeted workflow modifications can significantly enhance clinician well-being.
• Reallocating administrative tasks to appropriate team members and utilizing EMRs reduces physician burden and improves efficiency.
• Interdisciplinary collaboration is essential for developing sustainable solutions to improve healthcare staff well-being and patient safety.