/ en Wed, 30 Apr 2025 15:58:38 -0500 Wed, 30 Apr 25 15:05:41 -0500 /news/headline/2025-04-30-aha-blog-7-tactics-successfully-driving-health-care-team-engagement <p>A blog by the AHA and Press Ganey shares insights from leaders of seven health care systems on balancing the demands of delivering personalized, high-quality care and the urgent need to support a stretched and often overwhelmed workforce. <a href="/news/blog/2025-04-29-7-tactics-successfully-driving-health-care-team-engagement">READ MORE</a></p> Wed, 30 Apr 2025 15:05:41 -0500 Burnout /2025-01-28-3-top-takeaways-health-care-2025-forecasts <div class="container"><div class="row"><div class="col-md-8"><p><img src="/sites/default/files/inline-images/3-Top-Takeaways-from-Health-Care-2025-Forecasts.png" data-entity-uuid="1c55b35f-0a86-42f4-8bb6-0f2e68401b7b" data-entity-type="file" alt="3 Top Takeaways from Health Care 2025 Forecasts. A pair of hands holding a globe that displays the words, "2025 Forecast."" width="100%" height="100%"></p><p>Three things are certain in this world: death, taxes and health care predictions for 2025. Each year we review a slew of health care outlooks and, after sifting through them, here are a few of the more interesting hypotheses.</p><h2><span><img src="/sites/default/files/inline-images/Address-workforce-challenges-and-strengthen-core-business-technologies-icon.png" data-entity-uuid="db2deb57-cb3b-41f6-9952-dd0f7bd8413c" data-entity-type="file" alt="Address workforce challenges and strengthen core business technologies.icon." width="524" height="612" class="align-left">1</span> <span>|</span> Address workforce challenges and strengthen core business technologies.</h2><p>Workforce will continue to be a key focus for hospitals and health systems. More than half (58%) of health system executives expect workforce challenges, such as talent shortages, retention issues and the need for upskilling to influence their organizational strategies in 2025, according to <a href="https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/industry/health-care/life-sciences-and-health-care-industry-outlooks/2025-us-health-care-executive-outlook.html" target="_blank" title="Deloitte Life Sciences & Health Care: 2025 US health care outlook">Deloitte’s 2025 U.S. Health Care Outlook</a>.</p><p>While workforce challenges remain a top concern, the urgency has decreased compared to two years ago when 85% of executives cited these issues during a substantial exodus of clinical staff, as noted in previous Deloitte U.S. health care outlook surveys. Despite this, many health systems still face clinical talent shortages, clinician burnout and rising labor costs. In 2025, health system leaders have an opportunity to rebuild trust and restore a sense of meaning, value and purpose in their employees’ job.</p><h3>Takeaway</h3><p>The report suggests health care leaders can:</p><ul><li><strong>Redesign work teams.</strong> Health systems can establish comprehensive interdisciplinary care teams, provide curated training programs and map out new career paths for their staff to enhance employees’ connection to the organization and acknowledge their important roles.</li><li><strong>Invest in cost-saving technologies.</strong> According to the Deloitte workforce technology study, generative AI and automation technologies can cut in half the amount of time revenue cycle staff spend on mundane tasks and give bedside nurses 20% more time to spend on direct patient care. Health systems should consider leveraging these technologies and exploring new work modalities, such as virtual nursing, to enable remote work possibilities for clinical staff.</li><li><strong>Prioritize equity in design.</strong> All technology and operational investments and implementation projects at health systems should help ensure equitable access, experience and impact for all users — consumers, clinicians and administrative staff. Understanding the needs and impacts of different populations from a technology or operational change and intentionally designing to meet those needs or mitigate those impacts can help ensure broader adoption.</li></ul><h2><span><img src="/sites/default/files/inline-images/Getting-upstream-of-patient-burnout-is-critical-icon_0.png" data-entity-uuid="b8f8e55e-8c12-41f1-a3b9-d4a503dddab7" data-entity-type="file" alt="Getting upstream of patient burnout is critical icon." width="524" height="612" class="align-left">2</span> <span>|</span> Getting upstream of patient burnout is critical.</h2><p>Many patients who live with chronic disease face symptoms of burnout that can lead to detrimental disengagement from their care, notes a <a href="https://medcitynews.com/2025/01/will-2025-be-the-year-of-patient-burnout/" target="_blank" title="MedCity News: Will 2025 Be the Year of Patient Burnout?">recent essay</a> by Tony Vahedian, CEO of CCS, a provider of clinical programs and home-delivered medical supplies for those living with diabetes or other chronic conditions.</p><p>The coming year will be a critical time for providers and payers to focus on this issue and find ways to provide care in a coordinated and personalized manner, he explained. Diabetes, for example, is a disease of overwhelming, nonstop decision-making, requiring people to stay one step ahead of countless factors each day, including diet and exercise, medications, device readings, doctors’ appointments, insurance coverage and more. Add the usual stressors of family, work and socializing, and it’s a recipe for burnout, also known as “diabetes distress,” which affects 30%-40% of <a href="https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/professionals/diabetes-discoveries-practice/diabetes-distress-and-depression?#:~:text=Diabetes%20distress%20is%20much%20more,of%20diabetes%20distress%20over%20time." target="_blank" title="National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases Diabetes Discoveries & Practice Blog: Diabetes Distress and Depression">people with diabetes</a>.</p><h3>Takeaway</h3><p>A key step will be to bring together stakeholders this year to help providers and payers better understand how a person’s ability to engage in self-care and collaborative care can be tied to their level of physical, emotional and administrative distress in coping with the disease day to day. The challenge will be to better understand how to develop proactive, person-centered solutions that address the root causes of distress before they lead to detrimental disengagement.</p><h2><span><img src="/sites/default/files/inline-images/Heres-where-AI-will-make-a-tangible-impact-icon.png" data-entity-uuid="cb49796e-b85c-48a0-9f28-ea1c0f762bd1" data-entity-type="file" alt="Here's where AI will make a tangible impact icon." width="524" height="612" class="align-left">3</span> <span>|</span> Here's where AI will make a tangible impact.</h2><p>Look for the dust to begin to settle around the hype and grandiose promises regarding artificial intelligence in health care and gen AI, notes a <a href="https://assets.contenthub.wolterskluwer.com/api/public/content/2564626-wolters-kluwer-health-2025-predictions-report-pdf-ca08967512?v=cb72af70" target="_blank" title="Wolters Kluwer Health 25 for '25 expert predictions report: Driving momentum in healthcare technology amid dramatic change">Wolters Kluwer Health forecast</a>.</p><p>The top three growth AI areas to watch include improving workflows, enhancing clinician workforce development and patient safety, according to Stacey Caywood, Wolters Kluwer Health CEO. Caywood expects there will more synergies and partnerships to emerge between AI and complementary technologies that serve as a force multiplier for the potential of AI to drive efficiency in the clinical workflow, provide relief from burnout and deliver value for health systems.</p><h3>Takeaway</h3><p>Amid staffing shortages, 2025 will see AI helping future clinicians get on a fast track to practice-readiness. Nursing education tools are being wholly rethought to leverage the capabilities of AI. For example, AI has the potential to boost nurses’ licensure prep so students learn from mistakes with smarter, more personalized reinforcement. Look for AI chatbots to transform virtual reality training by providing lifelike conversations with virtual patients. AI also will accelerate the development and adoption of clinical practice changes as hospital nursing leaders turn to AI to power the often-cumbersome process of updating nursing practice protocols.</p><p>Also, look for AI to play a bigger part in patient safety this year, Caywood says. In 2025, she anticipates that solutions will dig deeper into live health data to identify disconnects in care that often are overlooked and can impact patient safety. “Imagine an AI ‘helper app’ that works 24/7 in the background to identify instances where health care providers may miss a potential test or therapy for a patient,” she says.</p></div><div class="col-md-4"><p><a href="/center" title="Visit the AHA Center for Health Innovation landing page."><img src="/sites/default/files/inline-images/logo-aha-innovation-center-color-sm.jpg" data-entity-uuid="7ade6b12-de98-4d0b-965f-a7c99d9463c5" alt="AHA Center for Health Innovation logo" width="721" height="130" data-entity- type="file" class="align-center"></a></p><p><a href="/center/form/innovation-subscription"><img src="/sites/default/files/2019-04/Market_Scan_Call_Out_360x300.png" data-entity-uuid data-entity-type alt width="360" height="300"></a></p></div></div></div>.field_featured_image { position: absolute; overflow: hidden; clip: rect(0 0 0 0); height: 1px; width: 1px; margin: -1px; padding: 0; border: 0; } .featured-image{ position: absolute; overflow: hidden; clip: rect(0 0 0 0); height: 1px; width: 1px; margin: -1px; padding: 0; border: 0; } h3 { color: #9d2235; } Tue, 28 Jan 2025 06:15:00 -0600 Burnout /news/headline/2024-09-19-aha-participates-newsweek-panel-ai-and-physician-burnout <p>Chris DeRienzo, M.D., AHA chief physician executive and senior vice president, participated Sept. 17 in a Newsweek <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ae78F3uY0rM">event</a> on physician burnout and how artificial intelligence impacts the issue. DeRienzo was the introductory speaker for the session, where he discussed his work meeting with hospital and health system executives and clinicians across the country, saying that workforce issues are a common theme in conversations. <br> <br>"It's no secret that we're in the midst of a historic health care workforce crisis," DeRienzo said. "Our clinicians are burning out at alarmingly high rates." He added that finding solutions are a high priority for the AHA and hospitals nationwide, and that hospitals and health systems are finding success in their uses of technology to help. He shared how hospitals and health systems have had results such as reducing time in their electronic medical records for doctors by as much as 40 and 50 percent. <br><br>"Health care is — and will always be — a uniquely human experience," DeRienzo said. "That's why we need these kinds of conversations, because we cannot fail to thread the needle of technology with the fibers of our humanity." <br> <br>Following DeRienzo was a panel discussion on physician burnout and how hospitals and health systems can use AI to ease pressures on health care workers. <br> <br>Panelists included Eric Williamson, M.D., associate chair for radiology informatics and supervision of the Radiology Artificial Intelligence Program at Mayo Clinic; Ashley Beecy, M.D., medical director of artificial intelligence operations at NewYork-Presbyterian; Christine Sinsky, M.D., vice president of professional satisfaction at the American Medical Association; Pete Clardy, M.D., senior clinical specialist at Google Health; and Newsweek Health Care Editor Alexis Kayser.</p> Thu, 19 Sep 2024 14:59:40 -0500 Burnout /news/headline/2024-08-05-aha-podcast-piloting-innovative-workforce-support-put-focus-patient-care <p>A shrinking workforce presents a host of challenges for any health care organization. With fewer caregivers available, hospital staff can have their bandwidth stretched to the breaking point. In this conversation, Darryl A. Elmouchi, M.D., chief operating officer of Corewell Health, discusses the current constraints facing caregivers when managing their day-to-day responsibilities, and how Corewell piloted innovative programs to help their employees get back to the main priority of patient care. <a href="/advancing-health-podcast/2024-08-05-piloting-innovative-workforce-support-put-focus-patient-care">LISTEN NOW</a> </p> Mon, 05 Aug 2024 15:39:51 -0500 Burnout /aha-center-health-innovation-market-scan/2024-07-16-work-remains-physician-burnout-rates-are-coming-down <div class="container"><div class="row"><div class="col-md-8"><p><img src="/sites/default/files/inline-images/Work-Remains-but-Physician-Burnout-Rates-Are-Coming-Down.png" data-entity-uuid="73b2f705-a413-4099-9204-9fbcee7d50a8" data-entity-type="file" alt="Work Remains, but Physician Burnout Rates Are Coming Down. A physician with an extinguished candle for a head in the foreground with a downward trending graph in the background showing that physician burnout is declining." width="100%" height="100%"></p><p>Concerted efforts to improve physicians’ work lives and mental health on the heels of the pandemic appear to be making a difference.</p><p>New <a href="https://www.ama-assn.org/practice-management/physician-health/physician-burnout-rate-drops-below-50-first-time-4-years" target="_blank" title="AMA: Physician burnout rate drops below 50% for first time in 4 years ">American Medical Association (AMA) data</a> show that physician burnout rates have dipped below 50% for the first time in four years after reaching a peak of nearly 63% in 2021.</p><p>While the reduction in burnout to 48.2% of respondents comes as welcome news, the report explains that continued efforts are essential to address the root causes of physician burnout and ensure that doctors receive the support they need to thrive.</p><p>More than 12,400 surveys were received from physicians across 31 states and 81 health systems and organizations that took part in the survey conducted between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2023. The survey measures six performance indicators, including job satisfaction, job stress, burnout, intent to leave an organization, feeling valued by an organization and total hours spent per week on work-related activities.</p><p>The findings are important given the significant costs associated with physician burnout. The report notes that <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama-health-forum/fullarticle/2802872" target="_blank" title="JAMA Network: Burnout, Professionalism, and the Quality of US Health Care">burnout costs</a> the U.S. health care system $4.6 billion a year, largely due to physician turnover and reduced work hours.</p><h2><span>3 Takeaways from the Survey Data</span></h2><h3>1. <span>Job satisfaction is improving.</span></h3><p>Physician job satisfaction rose to 72.1% in the latest survey compared with 68% in the 2022 poll. The report also provides insights into variations across gender, physician specialty and years in practice; those results will be released later by AMA.</p><h3>2. <span>More physicians feel valued.</span></h3><p>The percentage of physicians who felt valued by their organizations also rose to 50.4% in 2023 compared with 46.3% in 2022. Meanwhile, 16% did not feel valued at all by their organization, which is a drop from 18%. This is a key finding for many health systems concerned about retention, the report notes.</p><h3>3. <span>Job stress is down but concerns remain.</span></h3><p>Reports of substantial job stress improved from 55.6% in 2022 to 50.7% in 2023, but one in four respondents cited a lack of physicians and support staff in their organizations, and 12.7% raised concerns about excessive administrative tasks.</p></div><div class="col-md-4"><p><a href="/center" title="Visit the AHA Center for Health Innovation landing page."><img src="/sites/default/files/inline-images/logo-aha-innovation-center-color-sm.jpg" data-entity-uuid="7ade6b12-de98-4d0b-965f-a7c99d9463c5" alt="AHA Center for Health Innovation logo" width="721" height="130" data-entity- type="file" class="align-center"></a></p><p><a href="/center/form/innovation-subscription"><img src="/sites/default/files/2019-04/Market_Scan_Call_Out_360x300.png" data-entity-uuid data-entity-type alt width="360" height="300"></a></p></div></div></div>.field_featured_image { position: absolute; overflow: hidden; clip: rect(0 0 0 0); height: 1px; width: 1px; margin: -1px; padding: 0; border: 0; } .featured-image{ position: absolute; overflow: hidden; clip: rect(0 0 0 0); height: 1px; width: 1px; margin: -1px; padding: 0; border: 0; } Tue, 16 Jul 2024 06:00:00 -0500 Burnout /news/headline/2024-03-18-niosh-releases-guide-reduce-health-care-worker-burnout <p>The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes’ Foundation March 18 released an evidence-informed <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2024/p0318-Worker-Burnout.html" target="_blank">guide</a> to help hospital leaders implement a systems approach to accelerate professional well-being. Pilot-tested at six CommonSpirit Health hospitals, the guide outlines six action steps, from conducting an operations review and building a dedicated team to support professional well-being to removing barriers to seeking care and creating a 12-month plan to advance your professional well-being work.</p> Mon, 18 Mar 2024 14:49:35 -0500 Burnout /aha-center-health-innovation-market-scan/2024-02-06-what-physicians-and-nurses-want-execs-do-about-burnout-problem <div class="container"><div class="row"><div class="col-md-8"><p><img src="/sites/default/files/inline-images/What-Physicians-and-Nurses-Want-Execs-to-Do-about-the-Burnout-Problem.png" data-entity-uuid="7f5087e6-99b2-4f22-8c15-cde203b969b2" data-entity-type="file" alt="What Physicians and Nurses Want Execs to Do about the Burnout Problem. A human head in profile is opened like a lighter with flames coming out of the inside." width="100%" height="100%"></p><p>Burnout rates among physicians and nurses are declining slightly, but they remain above pre-pandemic levels, with staffing shortages emerging as a top contributing factor.</p><p>Meanwhile, those who report they are starting to feel burned out cite efficiency concerns while those who are completely burned out cite concerns related to their organizations more broadly. Moreover, the severity of clinician burnout and the likelihood of their leaving the organization are strongly correlated.</p><p>These are some of the key findings from a recently released <a href="https://klasresearch.com/archcollaborative/report/understanding-and-addressing-trends-in-physician-and-nurse-burnout-2024/561" target="_blank" title="KLAS Research: Understanding & Addressing Trends in Physician & Nurse Burnout 2024">KLAS Arch Collaborative report</a>.</p><p>The report, based on KLAS data collected from more than 20,000 physicians and more than 32,000 nurses between January 2022 and August 2023, also found that clinicians want improved staffing and better alignment from leadership, greater electronic health record (EHR) efficiency and better pay.</p><h2><span>Key Contributors to Burnout</span></h2><p>Top factors contributing to clinician burnout are:</p><ul><li>Staffing shortages, noted by <span><strong>56%</strong></span> of physicians and <span><strong>65%</strong></span> of nurses.</li><li>Too many bureaucratic tasks, cited by <span><strong>54%</strong></span> of physicians and <span><strong>29%</strong></span> of nurses.</li><li>A chaotic work environment, noted by <span><strong>28%</strong></span> of physicians and <span><strong>39%</strong></span> of nurses.</li><li>No control over workload, reported by <span><strong>39%</strong></span> of physicians and <span><strong>18%</strong></span> of nurses.</li><li>After-hours workload, reported by <span><strong>45%</strong></span> of physicians and <span><strong>11%</strong></span> of nurses.</li></ul><p>Across work environments, burnout is fairly consistent, but it differs by organization type. Physicians and nurses working in community health systems are the most burned out, likely because these organizations experience higher turnover rates that result in increased workloads and less support, the report concludes.</p><p>Yuma Regional Medical Center, a member of the Arch Collaborative, proactively created a psychologist-led program to address physician burnout. Their strategy includes ongoing monitoring and follow-up appointments, fostering a culture of open communication and reducing stigma around burnout.</p><h2><span>Bridging the EHR Efficiency Chasm</span></h2><p>The Arch Collaborative conducts research on burnout, focusing on how it intersects with the EHR. The report underscores that health care leaders can help alleviate clinician burnout and improve EHR satisfaction by focusing on efficiency.</p><p>The authors note that health systems can do this by providing additional EHR education, supporting EHR personalization and reducing repetitive actions. Removing constant, daily irritants is an effective way to help clinicians feel more in control of their workload.</p><p>Previous KLAS research shows a correlation between strong information technology delivery and reduced burnout. Likewise, physicians and nurses need evidence that the organization values their ideas.</p></div><div class="col-md-4"><p><a href="/center" title="Visit the AHA Center for Health Innovation landing page."><img src="/sites/default/files/inline-images/logo-aha-innovation-center-color-sm.jpg" data-entity-uuid="7ade6b12-de98-4d0b-965f-a7c99d9463c5" alt="AHA Center for Health Innovation logo" data-entity- type="file" width="721" height="130" class="align-center"></a></p><p><a href="/center/form/innovation-subscription">><img src="/sites/default/files/2019-04/Market_Scan_Call_Out_360x300.png" data-entity-uuid data-entity-type alt width="360" height="300"></a></p></div></div></div>.field_featured_image { position: absolute; overflow: hidden; clip: rect(0 0 0 0); height: 1px; width: 1px; margin: -1px; padding: 0; border: 0; } .featured-image{ position: absolute; overflow: hidden; clip: rect(0 0 0 0); height: 1px; width: 1px; margin: -1px; padding: 0; border: 0; } Tue, 06 Feb 2024 06:00:00 -0600 Burnout /news/headline/2023-12-15-aha-podcast-how-one-health-systems-wellness-program-making-difference <p>Two experts discuss how Northwestern Medicine’s Scholars of Wellness program is easing mental stress and burnout among its staff and could benefit hospitals and health systems across the nation.  <br><a href="/advancing-health-podcast/2023-12-14-well-being-impact-northwestern-medicines-scholars-wellness-program?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=aha-today">LISTEN NOW</a></p> Fri, 15 Dec 2023 14:55:26 -0600 Burnout /news/headline/2023-09-15-survey-examines-mental-health-well-being-medical-profession <p>About six in 10 physicians and residents and seven in 10 medical students say they experience feelings of burnout often, according to the latest <a href="http://physiciansfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/PF23_Brochure-Report_Americas-Physicians_V2b-1-2.pdf" target="_blank">survey</a> by the Physicians Foundation. About half of physicians, residents and medical students say they know a colleague or peer who has considered, attempted or died by suicide. Nearly eight in 10 physicians, residents and students say there is stigma surrounding mental health and seeking mental health care. Among other findings, 80% of physicians and 85% of residents found strategies to reduce administrative burdens helpful to their mental health and well-being.</p> Fri, 15 Sep 2023 15:00:03 -0500 Burnout /news/headline/2023-07-11-patients-clinicians-say-health-insurer-policies-reduce-access-care <p>Health insurance policies and practices are reducing access to medical care, driving up health care costs and increasing clinician burden and burnout, according to patients and clinicians surveyed by Morning Consult for the AHA.  <br />  <br /> Over six in 10 patients <a href="/infographics/2023-07-11-new-consumer-poll-finds-patients-are-concerned-about-commercial-insurer-barriers-care-infographic" target="_blank">report</a> experiencing at least one insurance-related barrier to care in the past two years, with four in 10 reporting worse health as a result. Most patients say they want their care provider, not their insurance company, to determine what care they receive; and over half report difficulty affording insurance costs and premiums.  <br />  <br /> Over eight in 10 nurses say insurers’ <a href="/infographics/2023-07-11-new-polls-nurses-and-physicians-finds-infographic" target="_blank">administrative policies</a> delay patient care, three-quarters say they reduce quality of care and over half say their job satisfaction has decreased as a result. Over eight in 10 physicians say these policies affect their ability to practice medicine and make it difficult to operate a solo practice.  </p> <p>“These surveys bear out what we’ve heard for years — certain insurance companies’ policies and practices are reducing health care access and making it more difficult for our already overwhelmed clinicians to provide care,” <a href="/press-releases/2023-07-11-new-surveys-find-majority-patients-doctors-nurses-say-health-insurer-policies-reduce-access-care" target="_blank">said</a> AHA President and CEO Rick Pollack. “Health insurance should be a bridge to medical care, not a barrier to it for patients. If policymakers are serious about expanding access and addressing the health care workforce crisis, then we must hold insurance companies accountable for these harmful practices.”</p> Tue, 11 Jul 2023 14:22:23 -0500 Burnout