Physician burnout is a known problem in the U.S. healthcare system. It is linked to poorly designed electronic health records (EHRs) and the growing amount of paperwork. The American Medical Association (AMA) reports that many doctors must spend extra hours on administrative work outside of patient care. This reduces the time they spend with patients, which is often the best part of their job.
Dr. Jesse Ehrenfeld, MD, MPH, who supports having doctors involved in technology design, said many digital health tools do not help healthcare workers well. This happens because clinicians are not included during the design and development stages. Without their input, these tools can raise workloads and lower job satisfaction, making burnout worse.
When tools are made without input from clinicians, they often have poor usability. For example, many EHR systems are hard to use, with many steps needed to perform simple tasks and inefficient message handling. The AMA has created tools like the EHR inbox reduction checklist and Taming The EHR Playbook to help reduce paperwork. But these guides are not enough. Better technology design that fits real clinical workflows is needed.
Physicians, nurses, medical assistants, and office staff all use digital health tools daily. Each group uses them in different ways. Everyone depends on the tools being easy to use and working well to keep things running smoothly.
Dr. Ehrenfeld and the AMA say doctors and care teams should be involved in all parts of tool development. This includes gathering requirements, testing prototypes, and final product release. It also means involving providers in usability tests using surveys and expert reviews.
Research from Karlstad University in Sweden studied how digital health tools are tested for usability. They found that surveys and interviews make up 85% of studies, while user observation and task tests make up 63%. Only 17% use expert reviews without users.
The System Usability Scale (SUS) survey is common, appearing in 49% of tests. But many important features are not checked, such as accessibility for users with disabilities, and how easy the tools are to remember and use fast.
Since digital health tools vary widely—70% of tests focus on mobile health apps, 36% on telehealth, and 29% on health information technologies—it is important to check usability carefully. Healthcare managers and IT staff must make sure teams give regular and full feedback. If not, tools might stay slow, cause delays, and lead to mistakes.
Usability means different things to different people. It depends on their role, mental ability, and health. Bilal Maqbool said usability tests should fit the skill levels and stress workers face, especially in healthcare where time is short.
Research also shows that using mixed methods works well. Combining surveys and interviews with hands-on tests, like asking users to talk while doing tasks, gives better feedback. For example, when doctors use a telehealth prototype and explain problems out loud, developers can spot issues that surveys might miss.
One problem with testing is finding healthcare workers who have time to participate. Doctors, nurses, and staff are often busy. Expert reviews without users can help fill this gap by giving balanced feedback.
Automation and AI are not used much in usability testing yet. But they could help by analyzing user data and system use without needing users to spend much time. This could allow constant improvements and make interfaces better for different users.
One important step in digital health is adding artificial intelligence (AI) to reduce paperwork and improve workflows, especially in EHR systems.
Doctors say documentation and managing EHR inboxes take up a large part of their day. These tasks extend work hours and reduce patient care time. AI could help by automating repetitive tasks and allowing doctors to focus more on medical decisions and talking with patients.
Some examples of AI in healthcare administration include:
Successful AI use depends on close teamwork between IT personnel and healthcare workers. Dr. Ehrenfeld said doctor involvement is needed to avoid creating technology that adds to work instead of reducing it. The AMA also supports including doctors in digital tool development to avoid past mistakes.
For medical practice managers, owners, and IT heads in the U.S., digital health is changing fast with more AI and digital tools. Here are some practical steps they can take:
As healthcare technology grows in the United States, it is important to focus on the needs of healthcare workers who use these tools every day. Involving doctors and clinical staff in tool design and testing, plus using AI to make workflows easier, can improve job satisfaction, reduce burnout, and give better patient care. For medical practice managers and IT staff, bringing these ideas into their work can help build a stronger healthcare system.
The leading cause of physician burnout is often attributed to administrative burdens, particularly the inefficiencies associated with electronic health records (EHRs). Poorly designed technology and increasing documentation requirements exacerbate these issues.
AI improves workflows by automating tasks such as triaging and responding to electronic health record messages, thus making processes more efficient and alleviating the administrative load on physicians.
AI scribes are tools that utilize generative AI to assist in documentation, significantly reducing the time physicians spend on paperwork and allowing them to focus more on patient care.
Collaboration among physicians, care teams, and IT experts is crucial to ensure that AI tools are designed to meet the actual workflow needs of healthcare professionals, thereby enhancing usability and effectiveness.
Physician involvement in technology development is essential to create tools that genuinely assist healthcare providers rather than hinder their workflows, thus reducing burnout.
Poorly designed EHRs can lead to increased administrative burden and time spent on documentation, which detracts from patient care and contributes significantly to physician burnout.
The AMA advocates for involving physicians in the creation of digital health tools and supports efforts that promote regulatory flexibility to make these technologies function optimally.
AI tools address EHR burden by systematically streamlining documentation processes, reducing the time physicians spend managing inboxes, thereby reclaiming time for patient interaction.
AI has the potential to significantly reduce administrative burnout by automating repetitive tasks and simplifying workflows, enabling healthcare providers to focus on patient care and improving job satisfaction.
Future considerations should include ensuring that physicians are consulted during the design phase to preemptively address usability issues, which will ultimately enhance the intended benefits of these digital tools.
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