Physician burnout affects quality, safety

Physician burnout can negatively impact both quality of care and patient safety. Psychologists from the School of Science at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) have completed a study focused on the links between burnout, quality and safety.

The analysis of 82 studies included 211,000 clinicians. Aspects of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and reduced personal accomplishment were all included in the study when taking into account the link between these factors and quality and safety. The work was published in Journal of General Internal Medicine.

"We found a consistent relationship—technically a medium effect size—between higher levels of provider burnout and lower levels of both quality and safety," said study corresponding author Michelle Salyers, a professor of psychology who directs IUPUI's clinical psychology program and the director of the Assertive Community Treatment Center of Indiana.

Results showed that quality is more affected by physician burnout than safety. The negative impact of burnout has a larger influence on the perceptions of safety rather than safety itself. Still, the impact to patient safety was noticeable.

"While burnout is not the primary cause of poor quality healthcare nor the primary cause of patient safety issues, links between provider burnout and care quality and patient safety are real and should be recognized," Salyers said. "Our work provides a message for health care funders, policymakers and those who 'run' health care in a variety of settings—clinic, hospital and system administrators—that as they work to improve patient outcomes and safety, they should pay attention to the well-being of their workforce."