The steps health systems and independent practices can take now to mitigate the immediate and long-term impact of COVID-19 on clinician wellness
Clinician burnout has been a growing problem for health systems and independent practices for years. Numerous studies have indicated that much of the stress clinicians experience is driven by excessive administrative busywork such as entering data into the EMR, which often flows into evenings and weekends. “Excessive workload, clerical burden and inefficiency in the practice environment, a loss of control over work, problems with work-life integration, and erosion of meaning in work” are all implicated in clinician burnout.1 One study conducted in a community hospital emergency department (ED) found that 43% of clinician time was spent working in the EMR and only 28% on direct patient care.