Electronic health records can be used to predict burnout of primary care physicians on a clinical level, according to a study published April 3 in Mayo Clinic Proceedings.
Here are five takeaways from the study:
- Researchers from Stanford (Calif.) University, Boston-based Harvard Medical School and St. Louis-based Washington University School of Medicine collaborated on the study.
- AI was used to compare certain EHR measures against well-being surveys completed by 278 physicians.
- The surveys were conducted between April 1, 2019 and Oct. 16, 2020.
- The best predictor of physician burnout was the number of automated messages they received, followed by whether team members had contributed to writing some or all of a physician's notes.
- AI was found to be most effective at predicting burnout on the clinical level, while its ability to predict burnout for individual clinicians was "limited," according to an Oct. 3 article on Stanford's website.