21, 23–26 Few have attempted to understand the nature of their work 24, 27, 28 and even fewer examined their work in the context of using health IT. 18 However, existing studies have predominantly focused on cost–benefit analysis of medical scribes 19–22 and their acceptance in clinical practices. 17 It is generally assumed that the use of medical scribes is an effective means to improve clinicians’ time efficiency, thus reducing burnout. Most commonly referred to as medical scribes, this emerging class of paraprofessionals is tasked with preparing clinical documentation by transcribing patient–provider conversation and entering the data into computerized clinical information systems. 14, 15īefore longer-term solutions become available, some clinical practices have opted to employ data workers to provide much needed assistance to clinicians. 16 It is also believed that health IT oftentimes mediates or magnifies the undue documentation and reporting burden as a result of external influences, such as growing regulatory and billing requirements. 14, 15 Certain health IT systems, due to their poor usability and/or poor implementation, could make it difficult for clinicians to conduct their work efficiently and effectively. 13, 14 In recent years, there has been a growing concern regarding clinician burnout attributed directly or indirectly to the widespread use of health IT systems, such as electronic health records (EHRs) and computerized order entry. It has been shown in the literature that clinician burnout can be driven by a variety of factors, such as excessive workload, 4, 10 inefficiencies, 11, 12 and loss of professional autonomy (eg, work dictated by rigid templates and automatically generated alerts and reminders). 5, 8, 9 As a result, there is an imperative need for researchers, clinicians, and healthcare administrators to better understand the burnout phenomenon and to reduce its prevalence and detrimental effects. 6, 7 It is estimated that annually clinician burnout costs US $5000–$10 000 per provider due to lost productivity and staff turnover. As defined by the US Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, clinician burnout is “a long-term stress reaction marked by emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and a lack of sense of personal accomplishment.” 1 Prior research has repeatedly shown that clinician burnout is associated with a variety of adverse consequences, such as reduced time efficiency, 2 decreased job satisfaction, 3, 4 higher turnover rate, 5 increased medical errors, 4 and poorer patient health outcomes.
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