Physician burnout, staffing shortages top list of concerns as COVID-19 becomes endemic
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As the COVID-19 pandemic transitions to endemic, physician burnout and concerns over staffing shortages are pressing issues, according to an annual barometer of global physician sentiments.
According the 2022 Apollo Healthcare Predictions, 45% of U.S. physicians say they personally have experienced burnout in the past 2 years, compared with 25% of their European counterparts.
Concerns over staffing in their hospitals or clinics were cited by 62% of American doctors, but only 49% in Europe, while one in three U.S. doctors, and one in four European physicians have considered leaving the medical profession during the past year. For American doctors, in 2022, this number (34%) is nearly double what it was in 2021 (18%).
“2022 finds physicians deflated from the prolonged pandemic and frustrated by their waning influence in public health,” Daniel S. Fitzgerald, CEO and president of Apollo Intelligence, said in a press release. “Burnout levels and staffing concerns overshadow other, more optimistic findings this year. This year's report highlights the strain the pandemic is continuing to put on them.”
In addition, the release revealed more than half of U.S. respondents and a third in Europe, expressed worry about the long-term impact of COVID-19 on their patients. More than a quarter of medical professionals worldwide say the pandemic has stunted progress for new therapies in their specialties.
The report also stated 82% of American doctors and 79% of European physicians predict negative economic impact from COVID-19 in 2022, believing that more people will become ill from more contagious variants, leading to more being unable to work.
Though nearly one in five physicians worldwide expressed concerns about the long-term impact of COVID-19 vaccines on the public, nearly the same number expressed optimism that 2022 will be the end of the pandemic. That optimistic mindset was most prevalent among French and Spanish doctors, with 33% and 31%, respectively, believing a pre-pandemic state would return.