Opthalmologists feel like they are spending too much time with paperwork and experiencing EHR burnout like other physicians, yet they maintain a lower level of burnout compared to other physicians, according to Medscape's 2020 ophthalmologist lifestyle, happiness and burnout report.
To compile the report, Medscape polled 15,181 physicians across the U.S. on happiness, burnout and lifestyle.
Five things to know:
1. Ophthalmologists are less burned out compared to other specialties, with 23 percent saying they were burned out. The level of burnout among physicians generally was 41 percent.
2. Fifty-four percent of ophthalmologists said bureaucratic tasks such as charting and paperwork contributed the most to burnout, followed by government regulations (45 percent) and increasing computerization of practice (40 percent).
3. The top way ophthalmologists said they cope with burnout was isolation (45 percent), followed by exercise (43 percent) and talking with family and friends (34 percent).
4. Sixty-seven percent of ophthalmologists said they had not sought help from a professional for feeling of burnout because they felt they could deal with it on their own (46 percent). Fifty-eight percent said their symptoms weren't severe enough and 46 percent said they were too busy.
5. For the majority of ophthalmologists, spending enough time on their own personal health was an issue, with 12 percent saying they "always" make time for it. Thirty-eight percent said they sometimes make time for personal health, and 38 percent said they manage to spend enough time on their personal health "most of the time."
Read more findings here.