Physician Burnout, Well-being, and Work Unit Safety Grades in Relationship to Reported Medical Errors
- PMID: 30001832
- PMCID: PMC6258067
- DOI: 10.1016/j.mayocp.2018.05.014
Physician Burnout, Well-being, and Work Unit Safety Grades in Relationship to Reported Medical Errors
Abstract
Objective: To evaluate physician burnout, well-being, and work unit safety grades in relationship to perceived major medical errors.
Participants and methods: From August 28, 2014, to October 6, 2014, we conducted a population-based survey of US physicians in active practice regarding burnout, fatigue, suicidal ideation, work unit safety grade, and recent medical errors. Multivariate logistic regression and mixed-effects hierarchical models evaluated the associations among burnout, well-being measures, work unit safety grades, and medical errors.
Results: Of 6695 responding physicians in active practice, 6586 provided information on the areas of interest: 3574 (54.3%) reported symptoms of burnout, 2163 (32.8%) reported excessive fatigue, and 427 (6.5%) reported recent suicidal ideation, with 255 of 6563 (3.9%) reporting a poor or failing patient safety grade in their primary work area and 691 of 6586 (10.5%) reporting a major medical error in the prior 3 months. Physicians reporting errors were more likely to have symptoms of burnout (77.6% vs 51.5%; P<.001), fatigue (46.6% vs 31.2%; P<.001), and recent suicidal ideation (12.7% vs 5.8%; P<.001). In multivariate modeling, perceived errors were independently more likely to be reported by physicians with burnout (odds ratio [OR], 2.22; 95% CI, 1.79-2.76) or fatigue (OR, 1.38; 95% CI, 1.15-1.65) and those with incrementally worse work unit safety grades (OR, 1.70; 95% CI, 1.36-2.12; OR, 1.92; 95% CI, 1.48-2.49; OR, 3.12; 95% CI, 2.13-4.58; and OR, 4.37; 95% CI, 2.06-9.28 for grades of B, C, D, and F, respectively), adjusted for demographic and clinical characteristics.
Conclusion: In this large national study, physician burnout, fatigue, and work unit safety grades were independently associated with major medical errors. Interventions to reduce rates of medical errors must address both physician well-being and work unit safety.
Copyright © 2018 Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Conflict of interest statement
Potential Competing Interests:
The authors report no conflicts of interest.
Figures
Comment in
-
Burnout is Not Associated With Increased Medical Errors.Mayo Clin Proc. 2018 Nov;93(11):1683. doi: 10.1016/j.mayocp.2018.08.015. Mayo Clin Proc. 2018. PMID: 30392547 No abstract available.
-
In Reply-Burnout Is Not Associated With Increased Medical Errors.Mayo Clin Proc. 2018 Nov;93(11):1683-1684. doi: 10.1016/j.mayocp.2018.08.014. Mayo Clin Proc. 2018. PMID: 30392548 No abstract available.
Similar articles
-
Association of Physician Burnout With Suicidal Ideation and Medical Errors.JAMA Netw Open. 2020 Dec 1;3(12):e2028780. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.28780. JAMA Netw Open. 2020. PMID: 33295977 Free PMC article.
-
Burnout among U.S. medical students, residents, and early career physicians relative to the general U.S. population.Acad Med. 2014 Mar;89(3):443-51. doi: 10.1097/ACM.0000000000000134. Acad Med. 2014. PMID: 24448053
-
Association of resident fatigue and distress with perceived medical errors.JAMA. 2009 Sep 23;302(12):1294-300. doi: 10.1001/jama.2009.1389. JAMA. 2009. PMID: 19773564
-
Understanding physician burnout.Curr Probl Pediatr Adolesc Health Care. 2019 Nov;49(11):100656. doi: 10.1016/j.cppeds.2019.100656. Epub 2019 Oct 23. Curr Probl Pediatr Adolesc Health Care. 2019. PMID: 31668397 Review.
-
Physician Burnout and Well-Being: A Systematic Review and Framework for Action.Dis Colon Rectum. 2017 Jun;60(6):567-576. doi: 10.1097/DCR.0000000000000844. Dis Colon Rectum. 2017. PMID: 28481850 Review.
Cited by
-
The Participatory Approach in Healthcare Establishments as a Specific French Organizational Model at Hospital Department Level to Prevent Burnout among Caregivers: What Are the Perceptions of Its Implementation and Its Potential Contributions by These Caregivers?Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2024 Jul 6;21(7):882. doi: 10.3390/ijerph21070882. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2024. PMID: 39063459 Free PMC article.
-
Medical students' attitudes towards well-being and welfare: a systematic review protocol.BMJ Open. 2024 May 22;14(5):e080977. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2023-080977. BMJ Open. 2024. PMID: 38777594 Free PMC article.
-
The association between population health management tools and clinician burnout in the United States VA primary care patient-centered medical home.BMC Prim Care. 2024 May 15;25(1):164. doi: 10.1186/s12875-024-02410-8. BMC Prim Care. 2024. PMID: 38750457 Free PMC article.
-
"WISER" intervention to reduce healthcare worker burnout - 1 year follow up.J Perinatol. 2024 May 11. doi: 10.1038/s41372-024-01993-5. Online ahead of print. J Perinatol. 2024. PMID: 38734802
-
Burnout among diabetes specialist registrars across the United Kingdom in the post-pandemic era.Front Med (Lausanne). 2024 Mar 26;11:1367103. doi: 10.3389/fmed.2024.1367103. eCollection 2024. Front Med (Lausanne). 2024. PMID: 38596789 Free PMC article.
References
-
- Kohn LT, Corrigan JM, Donaldson MS, eds. To Err Is Human: Building a Safer Health System. Washington, DC: National Academy Press; 2000. - PubMed
-
- Makary MA, Daniel M. Medical error—the third leading cause of death in the US. BMJ. 2016;353:i2139. - PubMed
-
- Shojania KG, Dixon-Woods M. Estimating deaths due to medical error: the ongoing controversy and why it matters. BMJ Qual Saf. 2017;26(5):423–428. - PubMed
-
- James JT. A new, evidence-based estimate of patient harms associated with hospital care. J Patient Saf. 2013;9(3):122–128. - PubMed
Publication types
MeSH terms
Grants and funding
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Other Literature Sources
Medical