Earlier this year, thousands of nurses and healthcare workers declared a strike in Oregon. In early November, hundreds of physicians, PAs, and nurse practitioners employed by Minnesota’s Allina Health declared a strike as well.
These moves are bringing national attention to the intensifying crisis of clinician burnout. Healthcare walkouts aren’t all about wages, either. The chief complaints for many providers include their workloads and the lack of respect they face from their employers. Patient and provider safety are also among their concerns.
Health systems across the country can (and should) take lessons from these strikes to avoid wider issues. Here’s what leaders need to know.
The Rise of Burnout
Most physicians and other healthcare providers report symptoms of burnout. This is an industrywide problem that directly affects hospital operations, financial performance, and clinical outcomes. When skilled and trained professionals walk out, the entire community feels the effects.
When Provider Burnout Becomes Systemic
Burnout among providers has a measurable ripple effect. Hospitals and health systems that struggle to retain clinicians may face the following:
- Increased recruiting costs
- Reduced productivity
- Higher turnover
Each of these impacts quality of care, patient satisfaction, and other metrics. Providers who are burnt out may be more prone to clinical errors, and those mistakes could cost lives.
When stressors prompt employees to engage in organized labor actions, the cost to their employer is high. Hospitals facing strikes must deal with lasting reputational damage and lost revenue.
The Cost of Inaction
Health systems that do nothing will create an unsustainable feedback loop. When providers quit, those who remain must absorb more patients. In turn, they face increased stress and lower morale. Ultimately, the loop further accelerates attrition.
Hospitals that are already facing staffing shortages will struggle with instability and financial headaches. Therefore, protecting providers also protects the organization. When clinicians are supported, patients receive better care.
4 Evidence-Based Strategies to Reduce Provider Burnout
Health systems have the responsibility and the leverage to change how care teams function. Here are four proven ways that your organization can reduce provider burnout before it becomes systemic.
1. Limit Working Hours
One of the biggest complaints among workers involved in the recent Oregon strike is the amount of unpaid time they spent on charting and other administrative work. Several providers said that they would spend one or more hours charting after completing a 12-hour shift.
There are a few ways to address this problem. One approach involves designating one day per week for remote work, allowing providers to focus on charting and follow-ups. Another solution is to end patient visits one hour before the shift ends, which gives clinicians an hour of paid charting time to get caught up.
2. Implement a Chain of Command
Patient portals have changed how people stay connected with their providers. However, they’ve also overwhelmed clinicians. Hospitals can relieve this burden by implementing a tiered response system:
- Administrative teams can handle logistics requests
- Nurses can review medical questions and route them appropriately
- Providers only see messages that require their clinical judgment
Cutting down on the clutter can slash a physician’s workload.
3. Use Medical Scribes
Clinical documentation consumes a big chunk of a provider’s shift. The good news is that many charting tasks can be delegated. Scribes are linked to a 27% decrease in burnout rates among primary care providers. Using scribes allows clinicians to focus on patient interactions while making sure that documentation is accurate and complete.
4. Establish Realistic Patient Load Limits
Patient volume is a key metric for financial performance. However, allowing (or forcing) providers to take on too many patients accelerates burnout. Setting clear patient load limits ensures that clinicians have the bandwidth to provide thoughtful care to their patients.
Creating a Sustainable Care Environment
Preventing provider burnout is not a matter of individual resilience. Organizations must be structured to support providers and help them meet the needs of patients without sacrificing their own well-being. Health systems that prioritize flexible scheduling and efficient workflows can turn the tide.
Recent strikes have shown that healthcare workers are demanding systemwide change. Health systems must invest in their providers’ well-being to avoid disruption and build a more sustainable model of care.
