For clinicians, technological advancement may be a double-edged sword. On the one hand, state-of-the-art IT tools make it easier for clinicians to reach patients and understand a wider range of care models; on the other hand, it leads to blurring the boundaries between professional and personal, leading to high burnout rates.
But even if it causes burnout, technology may help to alleviate it, team members said during the virtual meeting HIMSS 21 number.
As the use of technology accelerates, the expectations of clinicians are getting higher and higher. Today, work often follows the clinician home.
“Working hours are no longer fixed working hours,” said Isil Arican, director of dynamic EHR services at the Stanford Children’s Health Center in Palo Alto, California, during the meeting. “Because we have all these tools, email, Slack and [Microsoft] Teams and people send us messages and ask questions at any time of the day…there is a problem with disconnection. “
Not only that, but with the increase in resources such as advanced data analysis tools and patient-generated data from wearable devices, the amount of data that clinicians are exposed to has increased exponentially.
A large amount of information and expectations can make clinicians feel overwhelmed and exhausted.
Burnout manifests itself in several different ways, from irritability to overall negativity. These feelings may cause clinicians to leave the medical profession and even prevent their children or young students from taking medicine as a career.
“[Burnout is] Shrink the pool,” said Dr. Emily Okun, a professor in the Department of Population Medicine at Harvard Medical School and the Harvard Pilgrim Institute of Healthcare in Boston. “In many ways, there are leaks in the pipeline. “
In order to solve this growing problem, the health system must truly understand what is effective and what is ineffective in the clinician’s workflow.
Stanford Children’s Health Center’s Arican says one way is to use data to identify major pain points. Then, the solution can be implemented.
For example, when Stanford Children’s Hospital found that inbox management was an important factor in clinician burnout, they created a multidisciplinary team to check the inbox, complete some tasks electronically, and send messages as needed. They also created tailor-made training for clinicians to help them manage their inboxes.
However, since the health system is identifying the drivers of burnout and figuring out ways to help, they must remember to adopt a gentle attitude.
“When you provide clinicians with data about them, it is important to realize that they will go through a sad process,” said Dr. Jenifer Lightdale, associate director of pediatrics at the Memorial Children’s Medical Center at the University of Massachusetts in Worcester, Massachusetts. “They will definitely deny it first-and then they will be very angry with you.”
She said this is why when providing data, it should also remind the health system that it is only trying to make the work life of clinicians easier.
Technology is an indispensable part of today’s healthcare, which means that clinicians cannot escape it. Therefore, the health system must ensure that technology serves clinicians, not against it.
“no doubt, [technology advancement has] It is both a blessing and a curse,” Lightdale said. “We need to be very careful [about not] When we try to continue to improve our technology, our doctors will be exhausted. “
Photo: PeopleImages, Getty Images
