Although burnout is down among healthcare professionals, its persistence still garners attention and solutions from systems.
Physician burnout fell from 53% in 2022 to 48.2% in 2023, according to a July 2024 report by the American Medical Association. Emergency medicine physicians saw the highest rates of any specialty, at 56.5% in 2023 and 62% in 2022.
Here are four methods four hospitals and health systems are using to address workforce burnout.
1. Ambient documentation
At Somerville, Mass.-based Mass General Brigham, a large share of burnout stems from documentation burdens, Rebecca Mishuris, MD, told Becker's in July.
The hospital addressed this issue by expanding its ambient documentation program to include more than 900 physicians. Success is measured by monitoring documentation burden and burnout levels, Dr. Mishuris said.
2. Designated spaces
Some systems have created spaces for workers to decompress. One is Michigan State University Health in Lansing, which created a "ZenDen" for nurses to utilize wellness services such as yoga classes and nutrition counseling, according to an Aug. 8 news release from the system.
The space was funded by the Nurse Health and Wellness Grant from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Nursing Program.
Seven in 10 nurse practitioners feel burnout and/or depression, with one in eight saying it is so severe they might leave medicine, according to a recent survey from Medscape.
3. Telehealth
Northwest Permanente in Portland, Ore., utilizes telehealth visits to focus on patient care and the physician shortage compounded by post-pandemic burnout, its CEO Leong Koh, MD, told Becker's.
The hospital also saves physicians time by using AI to triage incoming messages and point patients to the best team member.
4. University partnerships
At Dayton, Ohio-based Premier Health, its chief medical officer, Roberto Colón, MD, told Becker's that partnerships are key to addressing burnout.
Burnout can affect the workforce pipeline and steer future professionals away from one career path to another, he said. The system's affiliation agreement with Dayton-based Wright State University allows it to improve workforce developments.
"For us, it's going to be able to help develop a local pipeline of nurses, physicians, PAs, NPs and respiratory therapists that are going to help further support all of the growing patient needs that we're going to continue to have," Dr. Colón said.