How digital transformation can help address clinician burnout

Learning health care systems are paramount in addressing burnout

Learning organizations should dedicate themselves to improving healthcare work experiences and work systems for clinicians while acknowledging impact on patient care.

These systems will work toward supporting clinicians’ work and enabling continuous learning and improvement. Progress will require data collection, measurement, and greater use of IT resources in managing the role of technology in reducing clinician burnout. 

The IT leadership pledge: Exploring responsibilities to address clinician burnout

The first step to creating systems that help reduce burnout is modernizing clinical workflows  to reduce administrative burden and increase efficiency. This step starts with implementing digital solutions that are intuitive for clinical users, support interoperability, and are well integrated across clinical and administrative settings. 

A commitment to relieving care team administrative burden

CIOs around the world have expressed their commitment to creating IT strategies that rise to the challenges of digital transformation. Recently, this commitment has extended to the modernization and streamlining of clinician workflows.

But, as the connection between clinician burnout and healthcare technology use has become clear, the administrative burden has come into the sights of dedicated IT leaders around the world. Mexico supported its clinicians early in the pandemic to implement chats that function on both mobile and laptop, as well as telepsychiatry and personnel support for IT backup. 

A guarantee of strategic consolidation

Years of investment in healthcare technology has left care organizations with a patchwork of solutions and integrations, which is further complicated by government mandated resources. This fragmented digital ecosystem is an opportunity for IT leaders to invest in consolidation strategies that ease the weight on overburdened clinicians.

Leaders should start by auditing tech investments and developing a strategic roadmap—one that prioritizes efficiency, interoperability, reduction of redundancy, and cost management, all in service of the clinician experience.

A promise to update IT governance structure

Governance and accountability structures directly influence decision making, which flows downhill to clinician engagement—a critical piece in creating efficient workflows and operationalizing new IT investment.

IT leaders need to be clear on which positions take responsibility for which decisions, what leadership teams look like, and should update structures and processes to meet this need. 

A dedication to engaging your care teams

Executive IT strategy cannot be a top-down exercise, especially with a commitment to addressing burnout.

Instead, it should connect to clinical operations, involving multidisciplinary teams in everything from equipment purchases to developing clinical pathways. This alignment requires involving clinical leadership and tapping clinician perspectives to create a digital strategy that not only reduces, but also prevents burnout. 

A responsibility to optimize your tools

To properly address burnout, your digital health strategy will need to respond to both patient and clinician demands.

By enabling patients to become deeper participants in their care, you’ll better support value-based care initiatives, patient education goals, and a clinician-centered digital health strategy. The information patients access should be clearly aligned with the materials clinicians are referencing in their work.

Addressing clinician burnout is an exercise in creating alignment across multiple platforms and stakeholders through strategic consolidation and refreshed IT governance. Start your pledge by prioritizing digital transformation opportunities that involve and acknowledge the clinician experience as a gateway to improved patient engagement and healthier organizations.

Learn how healthcare IT leaders can partner with clinical leaders in the whitepaper “Creating a digital foundation to reduce clinician burnout”.