Value-Based Care News

Linking Physician Burnout and Social Determinants of Health

Physician burnout is on the rise under new quality reporting and business requirements but addressing social determinants of health can help providers.

Sponsored by Geneia

- It comes as no surprise that the majority of physicians believe social determinants of health (SDoH) matter for their patients and SDoH assistance would help improve their care and outcomes. A Leavitt Partners study of physician attitudes about SDoH found:

  • Transportation: 66 percent of physicians believe assistance arranging healthcare transportation helps patients
  • Housing: 45 percent say affordable housing aids patients
  • Food: 48 percent believe getting sufficient food benefits patients
  • Income: 54 percent consider income assistance a help to patients
  • Healthcare pricing: 75 percent say patients benefit from information about the price of healthcare and health insurance

The study also showed physicians believe someone other than themselves, ideally, a person outside their office or practice is best positioned to help patients overcome these obstacles. For example, more than 70 percent of physicians in practice for less than 20 years believe transportation assistance would help their patients, yet only 15 percent think doctors or their offices are responsible for helping.

Physicians are burdened by quality metrics

The belief among physicians that others help their patients address social determinant challenges likely stems from feeling overwhelmed by the administrative demands of medicine and epidemic levels of physician burnout. Increasing amounts of time and expense go toward documenting care provided to support quality metrics such as HEDIS measures.

Research published in Health Affairs showed physician practices spent more than $15.4 billion a year dealing with quality reporting. In 2014, the average physician practice dedicated 15.1 hours each week per physician — or 785 hours a year — processing quality metrics. Most of these hours were logged by staff, but the same study showed physicians spent 2.6 hours a week on quality metrics, time that could be used to care for nine additional patients.

Geneia’s Physician Misery Index has increased to nearly four out of five.

Geneia’s national physician survey found that 89 percent of doctors believe the “business and regulation of healthcare” has changed the practice of medicine for the worse; 57 percent strongly agree with this statement. The survey also showed the Physician Misery Index has increased to nearly four out of five since the inaugural report in 2015, and 80 percent of doctors admit they are personally at risk for burnout at some point in their career.

Research shows addressing patients’ social needs may reduce physician burnout

A study in the January-February 2019 issue of the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine, “Physician Burnout and Higher Clinic Capacity to Address PatientsSocial Needs,” determined burnout was less likely to be reported by family physicians “with a high perception of their clinic’s ability to meet patients’ social need.”

In other words, research on 1,298 family physicians found, “improving clinical capacity to respond to patients’ social needs may reduce primary care physician burnout.” There is reason to be hopeful that addressing patients’ social determinant challenges may help reverse epidemic levels of physician burnout.

More than ever, healthcare organizations, physicians, and care managers are using social determinant data to manage patient populations, personalize healthcare for individuals, improve outcomes and costs, and potentially to reduce physician burnout.

About Geneia

For more information, download Geneia’s white paper, Social Determinants of Health: From Insights to Action.