The burnout of physicians would have devastating consequences on the quality of care they provide. This is the alarmist conclusion of a meta-analysis, carried out by the English universities of Manchester, Keele, Leeds, Birmingham and Westminster and published on October 1 in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine. To arrive at these results, the researchers examined 47 articles analyzing 43,000 answers of doctors on the question.
The finding is clear: doctors who report burnout are twice as likely to make mistakes, such as incorrect diagnoses or incorrect prescriptions.
Risks of bad practices
“As a general practitioner, I am well aware of the impact of stress on clinicians, on the individual and on their colleagues. This study proves that burnout puts patient care and patient safety at risk. […] A sick workforce cannot provide good patient care ”Says Keele General Medicine Research Professor Carolyn Chew-Graham on the University website.
A recent General Medical Council report (GMC) – the British Order of Physicians – reported that preventable harmful errors occur in 1 in 10 patients. Overwork would indeed double the risk of non-compliance with professional standards and bad practice. Risks that particularly affect young practitioners. Among 52,000 new British doctors, one in four trainees said they felt burnt out.
An impact on patient satisfaction
Burnout is thus associated with poor quality care and a lack of “professionalism”. Because patient satisfaction is also at stake. Study director Maria Panagioti, a researcher from the University of Manchester, explains – still on the Keele site – that it is three times lower when doctors are physically, emotionally and mentally exhausted. Signs which, according to experts, define burnout. Between 2016 and 2017, public satisfaction with the National Health Service (NHS) – the public health system in the UK – has decreased from 63 to 57%.
“Clearly, it’s not the doctors’ fault, claims the researcher. This is due to a combination of factors including a high workload, the way teams work together, and the lack of measures that improve well-being. But it is also a culture of performance which in recent years has become more prevalent in the medical profession. Doctors are more and more called upon to be supermen, when they are not. “ She invites NHS organizations to examine the workload, improve teamwork and engage with professionals. “Resilience training, such as mindfulness classes […] funded by healthcare organizations, is also useful ‘, she adds.
In France, the situation is the same. The association Words from professionals has been studying the phenomenon for several years now. In 2014, she declared that one in three general practitioners is burned out due to their workload, but also to the deteriorating doctor-patient relationship. In this new large-scale study, the researchers warn: the lack of empathy linked to the depersonalization of the practitioner can be a source of psychological suffering for the patient.
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