Tech‑Related Burnout among Physicians
Summary of Project & Goals
We are conducting a provincial survey to evaluate and compare what aspects of health information technology (HIT) are associated with the occupational burnout experienced by physicians in NS and ON. HIT encompasses all technology that is used to store, document, share and analyze health information including electronic health records, electronic medical records (EMR) and health information repositories. The study findings will provide a baseline assessment prior to the OPOR rollout and can be used to support physicians in combatting tech-related administrative burden and optimizing their use of patient data.
Project Team Members
Dara Liu is in her second year of Medicine at Dalhousie University (Class of 2026). Prior to her current studies, she completed her Bachelor of Science in Psychology at McGill University. During her undergraduate degree, she conducted a thesis project with the Eating Disorders Program at the Douglas Research Center, examining the efficacy of a stepped-care model in the treatment of eating disorders. Dara is currently conducting her Research in Medicine Project with Dr. Janice Graham and Dr. Jeannette Comeau, in collaboration with OntarioMD examining the relationship between physicians, their use of health information technology, and associated burnout.
Dr. Mavis Jones holds a doctorate in Politics with a focus on expertise & evidence in science policy development in Europe and North America, with postdoctoral training in medical anthropology and sociology of science focusing on technology assessment. Over the last dozen years she has worked in government and charitable health sectors in roles that address better and more equitable access to care. In her current role at OntarioMD she runs an evaluation team that investigates the experience of clinicians using digital health tools, including reduction of administrative burden and burnout among providers.
Timothy Jason has over 25 years of experience engaged in dynamic health, research, and analytical environments. Tim has expertise in various Business Intelligence (BI) platforms, as well as extracting, processing, transforming, modelling, and visualizing data. Tim has a knack for not only turning raw unusable data into actionable insight, but also engaging users in the BI process and facilitating knowledge translation. At present, Tim is a Data Scientist and data visualization expert employed at OntarioMD in the Digital Health sector.
Dr. Jeannette Comeau is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Dalhousie University and Pediatric Infectious Diseases Physician at IWK Health in Halifax, NS. In addition to clinical responsibilities, Dr. Comeau is the Medical Director of Infection Prevention and Control, and the Medical Co-Lead of Antimicrobial Stewardship at the IWK Health Centre. She is an investigator at the Canadian Centre for Vaccinology focusing on vaccine policy, safety and hesitancy.
Prof. Janice Graham is an anthropologist of science, technology and medicine. Her research unpacks regulatory standards and practices in the development of emerging therapeutics and vaccines in Canada, Europe, and Africa, focusing on transparency, open data, safety, efficacy, and trustworthiness in the construction and legitimization of evidence. Graham’s most recent CIHR funded research involves designing strategic regulations and governance to combat the commercialization of public health. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences, former Burwell Chair in Medical Anthropology (UBC), Canada Research Chair in Bioethics (Dalhousie).
Our presentation delivered at Dalhousie’s Pediatric Grand Rounds (Feb. 14th, 2024) can be downloaded by clicking here!
Presentation Objectives
1. Outline the comparative landscapes of electronic medical records (EMR) and evidence for tech-related burnout in NS and Ontario;
2. Describe and introduce a brief tool to assess physician experiences with tech-related burnout;
3. Discuss how the survey findings will support physicians to combat administrative burden and optimize their use of patient data.