Majority of Healthcare Workers Worry About Burnout from Increasing Burden of Administrative Work
Report finds 48% of healthcare workers are concerned about their health system’s ability to retain and hire staff if they do not prioritize automation
A new nationwide survey initiated by Notable, a healthcare automation company, found that staff burnout, hiring, and retention stand out as top concerns for healthcare workers as hospitals and health systems continue to feel pressure from the pandemic. In addition to burnout, the report also found that more healthcare workers believe technology and automation can address these concerns and ease the burden of the growing volume of repetitive tasks.
Conducted annually, Notable’s State of Automation 2022 Report is a national survey of 1,000 American healthcare professionals. In the most recent edition employee burnout emerged as a top concern – 57% of respondents said they are worried they will burn out due to the number of repetitive tasks or documentation required in their role.
Other key findings include:
- Retention remains a challenge: Nearly half (48%) are worried about their health system’s ability to retain and hire staff if they do not prioritize automation.
- Too much time is spent on documentation and not on patients: On average, respondents said staff at their organization spend 57.5% of their time on repetitive tasks such as data entry and documentation.
- Burnout is a significant problem for staff: 28% of respondents said they have quit a healthcare job due to burnout.
“The pandemic has been particularly difficult for healthcare workers. Notable’s new research report shows this challenge remains top of mind, with 57% of staff still worried about burning out. Even more concerning, 28% said they have quit a job due directly to burnout, which is devastating,” said Tom Peterson, Strategic Advisor to Notable, “The data from this report is clear. To offer staff relief, ensure better patient outcomes, and continue to drive strategic growth for health systems, intelligent automation is a necessity.”
There is an acute need for healthcare organizations to develop new strategies to retain nurses and other staff. Another recent survey found that more than one-third of nurses said they plan to quit their current jobs by the end of the year. “We expect that the staffing situation in healthcare will worsen this year. The incredible burden that the pandemic put on the staff has been greatly exacerbated with inflation at a 20-year high. Hiring remains a big challenge in an already tight labor market and is only getting worse as inflationary pressures drive wages up. The good news is Notable helps reduce the stress on healthcare staff by automating tasks such as patient intake, registration, documentation, and billing,” Peterson explained.
Leading healthcare organizations across the United States already use Notable’s platform to automate 100s of workflows across patient engagement, population health, and revenue cycle management. With Notable, staff and clinicians report saving 700+ hours of administrative work per provider per year, increasing patient visit volumes, reducing claim denials, and freeing up workers to focus more time on patients.
