Meeting the imperative to improve physician well-being: Assessment of an innovative program

BACKGROUND: Improving physician health and performance is critical to successfully meet the challenges facing health systems that increasingly emphasize productivity. Assessing long-term efficacy and sustainability of programs aimed at enhancing physician and organizational well-being is imperative. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether data-guided interventions and a systematic improvement process to enhance physician work-life balance and organizational efficacy can improve physician and organizational well-being. DESIGN AND PARTICIPANTS: From 2000 to 2005, 22-32 physicians regularly completed 3 questionnaires coded for privacy. Results were anonymously reported to physicians and the organization. Data-guided interventions to enhance physician and organizational well-being were built on physician control over the work environment, order in the clinical setting, and clinical meaning. MEASUREMENTS: Questionnaires included an ACP/ASIM survey on physician satisfaction, the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), and the Quality Work Competence (QWC) survey. RESULTS: Emotional and work-related exhaustion decreased significantly over the study period (MBI, p=0.002; QWC, p=0.035). QWC measures of organizational health significantly improved initially and remained acceptable and stable during the rest of the study. CONCLUSIONS: A data-guided program on physician well-being, using validated instruments and process improvement methods, enhanced physician and organizational well-being. Given the increases in physician burnout, organizations are encouraged to urgently create individual and systems approaches to lessen burnout risk.