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Clinic ability to meet patients’ social needs associated with less physician burnout
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Family physicians who had confidence in their clinic’s capacity to address the social needs of patients were less likely to report burnout, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine.
“The association between lower burnout and physician perception of their clinic's ability to address patients' social needs held even when we controlled for other factors previously shown to be associated with burnout, such as physician control of their workload and time spent on electronic health records at home,” Emilia De Marchis, MD, primary care research fellow and clinical instructor at the University of California, San Francisco, told Healio Primary Care Today. “This work suggests that a new strategy to reduce physician burnout may be to increase a clinic's ability to address patients' social needs. If clinics are better able to assist patients with their social needs, this may not only benefit patients, but also improve physician wellness.”
Researchers conducted a cross-sectional analysis of 1,298 family physicians (mean age, 56 years; 44% men; 72% white; mean years in practice, 19) who completed a certification practice demographic questionnaire in order to apply to continue certification with the American Board of Family Medicine in 2016.
The questionnaire focused on self-reported burnout and clinic capacity to meet patients’ social needs, with the primary burnout outcome measured through a single-item question that asked physicians to rate their level of burnout on a scale of 1 to 5 and perceived clinic capacity to address patients’ social needs measured through a single-item question that asked physicians to assess if their clinic had a dedicated staff, community programs and resources to address patients’ social needs on a scale from 1 to 10.
Researchers found that 27% of family physicians reported burnout and that physicians who had a high perception of their clinic’s ability to address patients’ social needs were less likely to report burnout (adjusted OR = 0.66; 95% CI, 0.47-0.91).
Furthermore, physicians who reported high clinic capacity to address patients’ social needs were more likely to have a social worker (aOR = 2.16; 95% CI, 1.44-3.26) or pharmacist (aOR = 1.73; 95% CI, 1.18-2.53) on their care team and work in a patient-centered medical home (aOR = 1.65; 95% CI, 1.24-2.21).
“There is a need to further explore what contributes to physicians' perspectives of their clinic's capacity to address patient social needs, how perspectives on capacity may change over time, and whether improving a clinic's capacity to address patient social needs prevents or reduces physician burnout,” De Marchis said. – by Melissa J. Webb
For more information:
Emilia De Marchis, MD, can be reached at emilia.demarchis@ucsf.edu.
Disclosures: The authors report no relevant financial disclosures.