How Can We Reduce Clinician Burnout? Improving Patient and Caregiver Engagement

Healthcare has a reputation for throwing technology tools at institutional problems without designing the solutions to assist both patient and the team providing care. It starts with digital health tools that free clinicians of their biggest pain-point: those day-to-day tasks that consume so much of their time but do nothing to advance patient care. When other administrative tasks – like charting and paperwork – begin to absorb clinicians’ precious time, patient care gets compromised. Using digital tools the right way lets us retain happier and healthier clinicians and drive improved health outcomes for patients. After all, every participant benefits when digital health solutions promote patient engagement – whether it’s increased enrollment, adherence to provider-prescribed care plans, or patient-reported outcomes. Beyond this, the improved health outcomes driven by increased patient engagement create a positive feedback loop in which provider organizations save resources and time. As provider organizations begin to grapple with the effects of long-haul COVID cases, integrating digital health solutions that promote patient engagement into health plans could prove pivotal. Creating an environment where physicians are enabled to operate at the top of their license and experience reduced burnout is a complex and multifaceted issue, but digital health tools that are designed with the provider in mind and aimed at improving patient engagement are an important tool in the arsenal for provider organizations navigating these issues. When digital tools streamline rather than complicate workflows for care providers and empower patient engagement, the results have tremendous implications for provider organizations. Not only do these solutions drive improved patient health outcomes, they save time and resources for provider organizations.