Collaborative Care Reduces Stress and Increases Job Satisfaction and Comfort Prescribing for Primary Care Providers

Burnout among health care providers has reached epidemic levels, raising concerns about clinician wellness and the quality of care delivered. Based on years of collaboration with primary care providers through various models-including the Collaborative Care Model (CoCM)-the authors observed that such partnerships may enhance provider well-being. This study aimed to assess provider perceptions of CoCM and its impact of provider wellness.

In March 2023 a brief, anonymous, 9-question survey was distributed via email to 51 physicians, advanced practice nurse prescribers, and physician assistants working in 4 primary care clinics, each of which had implemented CoCM for at least 1 year. For this study, we examined 3 questions that specifically addressed provider wellness.

Twenty-six (51%) primary care providers completed the survey. Among the responses to wellness-related questions, 84.6% indicated reduced stress level, 80.8% reported improved job satisfaction, and 57.7% noted increased comfort with prescribing psychotropic medications. All respondents recommended CoCM to their colleagues.

Primary care providers strongly endorsed CoCM as beneficial to provider wellness. Further research is needed to confirm these findings and to explore whether improvements in clinician well-being translate to enhanced patient care.