02/01/12

Over 86% of U.S. physicians are moderately to severely stressed or burned out on an average day, according to a survey conducted by a wellness-services company and a placement company, released in late December 2011. Nearly two-thirds of respondents said their stress has increased moderately to dramatically in the past 3 years. Only 15% said their hospitals, clinics, or other health care organizations do anything to help them deal more effectively with their stress or burnout.

The survey of more than 2,000 U.S. physicians, across all specialties, was conducted in September 2011 by Physician Wellness Services and Cejka Search.

Respondents said that their top four external stress factors are the economy, health care reform, Medicare and Medicaid policies, and unemployed and uninsured patients, the companies reported. The top four work-related stress factors were administrative demands of the job, long work hours, on-call schedules, and concerns about medical malpractice lawsuits.

Fourteen percent of respondents indicated they had left their practices as a result of stress. “The survey data shows that physician stress and burnout is prevalent and increasing,” said a statement from Physician Wellness Services, a company that provides physician-specific behavioral, psychological, and other performance-related services to health care organizations. “Until now, little research has been done that delves into why physicians feel stress, the impact it has on their lives, and the impact physician stress has on patients.”

The organizational impacts include increased patient safety issues, lower staff morale at all levels, and increased turnover and recruitment challenges, according to the company. The personal impacts include fatigue, sleeplessness, irritability, and moodiness, “all of which result in physical and mental health issues, apathy and cynicism, and increased risk of medical errors, which impacts patient safety and could lead to medical malpractice lawsuits.”

Nearly one-third of respondents indicated that better work hours and less on-call time and better work-life balance would reduce their stress. Nearly two thirds said ancillary support would help.

“This study shows that health care organizations are not providing support for their physicians, and the physicians don’t know where to go for help,” said Dr. Alan Rosenstein, medical director of Minnesota-based Physician Wellness Services.

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