Healthcare professionals are the driving force behind change, pushing decision-makers into action and envisioning healthcare organizations that focus on collaboration, compassion, and care. However, increased cost pressures, limited time and resources, and inconsistent care across the care continuum negatively impact care teams, leading to waste and inferior patient outcomes. Despite clinicians' best efforts, healthcare organizations can fall short, affected by inefficiencies, and unsafe practices that harm patients and undermine the morale of care teams.
Globally, the number of healthcare workers declined from 20 million in 2013 to 15 million in 2020, with a projected decrease to 10 million by 2030.
Addressing burnout and clinician shortages in healthcare
Although healthcare organizations are making efforts to improve patient safety, unsafe medical practices and medication errors continue to cause avoidable harm in healthcare settings globally, resulting in significant financial and human costs.
When considering the cost of institutional fatigue and clinician burnout, the stakes could not be higher. It is not just a complex issue, but a daunting one. The impact of burnout on healthcare professionals, patients, and the healthcare system is significant and cannot be ignored. It is crucial to address this issue with urgency and invest in solutions that can help combat burnout.
The World Health Organization (WHO) outlines the following patient safety concerns including1:
- 1 in 300 chance of harm in healthcare.
- $42B USD global cost associated with medication errors.
- 7 million people experience disabling surgical complications annually, from which over 1 million die.
- 1 in 10 patients harmed in hospitals.
- 15% of health spending wasted dealing with adverse events.