Quality and Safety in Healthcare, Part LIV: The Need for Organizational Interventions to Prevent Burnout.

Physician burnout can be a contributing factor to depression, substance abuse, problems with relationships, and thoughts of suicide. Burnout of physicians also results in decreased quality, safety, and outcomes for patients and more financial costs for health-care institutions. It is not enough for health-care systems to focus on helping the individual; these organizations also need to understand that they are the main cause of physician burnout and take appropriate action to reform their processes.