‘Thoughtful’ integration of new technology may improve clinician well-being

Key takeaways:

• A survey from the AMA showed 48% of physicians experienced burnout in 2023.
• A presenter said thoughtful integration of new technology will improve clinician well-being.

ORLANDO — In a survey from the AMA, 48% of physicians reported experiencing symptoms of burnout in 2023 compared with 53% of physicians in 2022.

Despite this improvement, Margaret Lozovatsky, MD, FAMIA, vice president of digital health at the AMA, said, “We have a long way to go. Half of our physicians are reporting that they are struggling, and we are seeing attrition.”

Technology — including AI — “can play a significant role in helping to decrease cognitive burden,” according to Lozovatsky.

But although an AMA survey showed about 41% of physicians reported being excited about the opportunities of AI in health care, Lozovatsky said “a large percentage” of physicians also reported feelings of nervousness because of the risk associated with implementing these tools in the clinical setting.

To better integrate these technologies, Lozovatsky suggested that organizations build out their clinical informatics teams.

“When you see someone for a heart problem, you go to a cardiologist,” Lozovatsky said. “Yet, when we bring technology to the clinical areas, we do not always bring the appropriate expertise. Those are clinical informaticists. These are clinicians that are trained in how to implement technology into the clinical environment, so it is important to grow that space.”

Lozovatsky also said the cohesion of an entire clinical team is necessary in the decision-making process while implementing novel technologies.

“While I am a pediatric hospitalist and I understand the needs of pediatric hospitalists, I may not understand the needs of the neurosurgeon as well,” Lozovatsky said. “The partnership between physicians, nurses, pharmacists and all of the team members in [the] operation is critical to this.”

She said the end-user experience for the clinician is also paramount, as well as having a feedback mechanism in place to work through issues that arise throughout the integration process.

“When you have a thoughtful way to integrate technology that truly is supporting your clinicians, you have results quickly,” Lozovatsky said. “Decreasing the work burden or even thinking about including [electronic health record] efficiency and bringing it back to that wellness informatics, and helping to support the wellness of our clinicians so that they can focus on the reason we all went into medicine, which is to care for our patients.”