How physician stress can hurt your practice.

Physicians are under increasing pressure to see more patients, take on more management responsibilities, and still provide the best care. That is leading to a variety of problems--everything from general malaise and burnout to early retirement and unionization. Stressed-out physicians can have a disastrous effect on the bottom line of practices. Productivity drops, staff become demoralized, turnover increases, and patients become less satisfied with the care they receive--both from the physician and support staff. There are clear warning signs of physicians under too much pressure. There are also some simple steps a practice can take to minimize the occurrence of burnout and deal with it effectively when it occurs.