Recent survey: Burnout threatens the healthcare system
30.04.2021 15:58
A new international study* by the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS), commissioned by Nuance, examines the impact of overload and burnout in the healthcare sector in Europe and Australia. It found that doctors and nurses worldwide are overloaded and exhausted on a daily basis.
Overall, 98 percent of participating healthcare workers in the survey stated that they had experienced burnout at least once in their professional lives. When asked about the impact of COVID-19, 48 percent of doctors and nurses in Germany reported that the pandemic had exacerbated their symptoms of burnout. By comparison, this figure was only 38 percent in the Nordic countries and 62 percent in France.
Overtime with increasing documentation requirements
Workload plays a crucial role: It is scientifically proven that a workload of more than 40 hours per week contributes to burnout. Nevertheless, 88 percent of all physicians surveyed and 43 percent of nurses work more than 40 hours per week.
On the administrative side, the increasing workload contributes significantly to the strain. Doctors and nurses face high demands when documenting patient information, diagnoses, examinations, and therapies. This results in a loss of valuable time for patient care. According to 82 percent of all participating doctors and 73 percent of nursing staff, this administrative burden contributes significantly to burnout.
„Stress and burnout are a very widespread issue in the hospital setting. For many decades, nurses have been experiencing a clearly noticeable overload,“ explains Prof. Christel Bienstein, President of the German Professional Association for Nursing Professions (DBfK) and a member of the German Nursing Council. „A major reason for this is that nurses today are essentially not applying their skills in practice: from the communicative aspect – the accompanying patient consultation – to tailoring care so that the patient receives exactly what they need.“
Healthcare workers need digital support
HIMSS also investigated how information and communication technology is perceived in healthcare. In the study, physicians and nurses commented that technology can offer support in reducing stress and managing tasks. The HIMSS study concludes that technology must solve a specific problem and offer immediate added value. Ultimately, it must be examined whether it improves working conditions. "To make working in healthcare more attractive again, digitalization seems to me to be virtually the only option today for managing the challenges ahead," explains Prof. Dr. Matthias Rose, Director of the Department of Psychosomatic Medicine at Charité University Hospital.
Digital tools, such as speech recognition, can significantly reduce the time spent on routine administrative tasks and documentation, thus allowing healthcare professionals more time for their core task: patient care. During the COVID-19 pandemic, for example, the use of teleconsultations proved effective in many places. Respondents in Australia (58 percent), the Nordic countries (57 percent), and France (50 percent) were particularly likely to use this option. In Germany, at 28 percent, there was still more reluctance to use teleconsultations.
*Study methodology: Nuance Communications commissioned HIMSS to survey physicians and nurses in ten countries between November 19, 2020, and February 26, 2021. A total of 443 people participated. 416 physicians and nurses from Australia, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Norway, Sweden, and the Netherlands completed an online survey. A qualitative telephone interview was conducted with 27 physicians and nurses from these countries, as well as from Finland and the United Kingdom. (A detailed description of the methodology can be found in "Current Burnout Risk in Healthcare: What Those Affected Report.")