Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2019 Feb 1;26(2):106-114.
doi: 10.1093/jamia/ocy145.

Physician stress and burnout: the impact of health information technology

Rebekah L Gardner  1   2 , Emily Cooper  2 , Jacqueline Haskell  2 , Daniel A Harris  2   3 , Sara Poplau  4 , Philip J Kroth  5 , Mark Linzer  6
Affiliations

Physician stress and burnout: the impact of health information technology

Rebekah L Gardner et al. J Am Med Inform Assoc. .

Abstract

Objective: To quantify how stress related to use of health information technology (HIT) predicts burnout among physicians.

Methods: All 4197 practicing physicians in Rhode Island were surveyed in 2017 on their HIT use. Our main outcome was self-reported burnout. The presence of HIT-related stress was defined by report of at least 1 of the following: poor/marginal time for documentation, moderately high/excessive time spent on the electronic health record (EHR) at home, and agreement that using an EHR adds to daily frustration. We used logistic regression to assess the association between each HIT-related stress measure and burnout, adjusting for respondent demographics, practice characteristics, and the other stress measures.

Results: Of the 1792 physician respondents (43% response rate), 26% reported burnout. Among EHR users (91%), 70% reported HIT-related stress, with the highest prevalence in primary care-oriented specialties. After adjustment, physicians reporting poor/marginal time for documentation had 2.8 times the odds of burnout (95% CI: 2.0-4.1; P < .0001), compared to those reporting sufficient time. Physicians reporting moderately high/excessive time on EHRs at home had 1.9 times the odds of burnout (95% CI: 1.4-2.8; P < .0001), compared to those with minimal/no EHR use at home. Those who agreed that EHRs add to their daily frustration had 2.4 times the odds of burnout (95% CI: 1.6-3.7; P < .0001), compared to those who disagreed.

Conclusion: HIT-related stress is measurable, common (about 70% among respondents), specialty-related, and independently predictive of burnout symptoms. Identifying HIT-specific factors associated with burnout may guide healthcare organizations seeking to measure and remediate burnout among their physicians and staff.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Percent of physician respondents reporting 1 or more symptoms of burnout, among the 15 most commonly reported specialties (N = 1372).
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Percent of physician respondents with electronic health records who reported 1 or more measures of health information technology (HIT)-related stress, among the 15 most commonly reported specialties (N = 1142).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Noseworthy J, Madara J, Cosgrove D et al. . Physician burnout is a public health crisis: a message to our fellow health care CEOs. HealthAffairs Blog. March 28, 2017. http://healthaffairs.org/blog/2017/03/28/physician-burnout-is-a-public-h... May 8, 2018.
    1. Landon BE, Reschovsky JD, Pham HH et al. . Leaving medicine: the consequences of physician dissatisfaction. Med Care 2006; 443: 234–42. - PubMed
    1. Williams ES, Konrad TR, Scheckler WE et al. . Understanding physicians’ intentions to withdraw from practice: the role of job satisfaction, job stress, mental and physical. Health Care Manage Rev 2010; 352: 105–15. - PubMed
    1. McCain RS, McKinley N, Dempster M et al. . A study of the relationship between resilience, burnout and coping strategies in doctors. Postgrad Med J 2018;94:43–47. - PubMed
    1. Chen KY, Yang CM, Lien CH et al. . Burnout, job satisfaction, and medical malpractice among physicians. Int J Med Sci 2013; 1011: 1471–8. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types