Time Out: The Impact of Physician Burnout on Patient Care Quality and Safety in Perioperative Medicine

Abstract

Perioperative care delivery is a patient-centered, multidisciplinary process. It relies heavily on synchronized teamwork from a well-coordinated team. Perioperative physicians—surgeons and anesthesiologists—face enormous challenges in surgical care delivery due to changing work environments, post-COVID consequences, shift work disorder, value conflict, escalating demands, regulatory complexity, and financial uncertainties. Physician burnout in this working environment has become increasingly prevalent. It is not only harmful to physicians’ health and well-being, but it also affects the quality and safety of patient care. Additionally, the economic costs associated with physician burnout are untenable due to the high turnover rate, high recruitment expenses, and potential early permanent exit from medical practice. In this deteriorating environment of unbalanced physician supply/demand, recognizing, managing, and preventing physician burnout may help preserve the system’s most valuable asset and contribute to higher quality and safety of patient care. Leaders in government agencies, health care systems, and organizations must work together to re-engineer the health care system for better physicians and patient care.

A Prevenção Da Síndrome De Burnout Na Área Médica: Uma Revisão Integrativa Da Literatura

“…Isto é, nenhuma solução isolada ou de tamanho único será possível para interrompê-la. A evidência mais consistente leva a um conjunto multifacetado de soluções que podem ser adaptadas às necessidades individuais e organizacionais (SHIN et al, 2023). Nesse sentido, a conscientização e o diálogo sobre as razões culturalmente relacionadas ao esgotamento devem ser uma prioridade, como também deve-se levar em consideração outros aspectos de suporte úteis para o bem-estar do médico, como o apoio multiprofissional, encurtamento do horário de trabalho e melhoria nas condições físicas dos hospitais (SHOPEN et al, 2022).…”

Wellness and burnout in cardiac surgery: not black and white

“…In this way, several aspects of the career predispose individuals to burnout. Examining factors of physician well being more broadly identifies electronic health records, strict care regulations, and liability concerns as predictors of burnout and autonomy, collegiality, financial compensation, and niche expertise as consistent predictors of wellness [8,[26][27][28]. Burnout reduction has also been associated with having multifarious job-related tasks and establishing workflow patterns [9].…”

“…Surgeon burnout impacts both intraoperative and perioperative care, leading to increased medical errors, malpractice suits, and overall inferior patient outcomes [1 ▪▪ ,2,7]. Specifically, burnout is estimated to account for up to 11% of serious medical mistakes [8]. Although pervasive across surgical disciplines, there is great variability in burnout rates between specialties (e.g., 52% in trauma surgery compared to only 31% in pediatric surgery), reflecting how each field must review its unique practices and culture to address specific issues of well being among constituents [2,5 ▪ ,9].…”