After an alarming increase in physician burnout at Sutter Health in Northern California in 2021 and 2022, the large health system formed a broad interdisciplinary well-being committee and local well-being committees at each of its 22 hospitals to try to turn the tide.
Through the groups’ efforts—which ran the gamut of teaching physicians EHR shortcuts to creating a systemwide peer support program—Sutter saw an almost immediate reduction in burnout. The results were reported in a case study, “Creating Systemwide Interdisciplinary Well-Being Committees to Reduce Physician Burnout,” that was published in NEJM Catalyst.
Sutter Health’s systemwide well-being committee is composed of a group of more than 80 that includes physician well-being leaders from Sutter Health’s nine medical groups and a physician, nurse and other staff well-being lead from each of Sutter Health’s 22 hospitals. Also invited are local chief medical executives and chiefs of staff. Committee meetings are 90 minutes long and are held virtually every two months.
“We were able to see a significant decrease in our burnout level and improvement in well-being,” said Jill M. Kacher Cobb, MD, chief medical executive of Novato Community Hospital and physician well-being lead for Sutter Health system, said during a presentation at the most recent International Conference on Physician Health™.
Sutter Health is a member of the AMA Health System Program, which provides enterprise solutions to equip leadership, physicians and care teams with resources to help drive the future of medicine.
“We felt that it was due to multiple things that we did over the course of that year: setting up the systemwide interdisciplinary well-being program, asking for local leadership in well-being at each of our hospitals and also within our medical groups, setting up peer support and really engaging the leaders and sharing tools with them,” said Dr. Kacher Cobb, a co-author of the NEJM Catalyst case study.
After creating the well-being committees, Sutter Health saw burnout drop from 33.9% in 2022 to 29.3% in 2023. Also, the share of physicians who said they felt highly valued rose from 60% in 2022 to 64.1% in 2023. Meanwhile, the percentage of physicians who said they wanted more support for their mental health needs fell slightly, from 24.3% to 23.9%.
Additionally, in 2023, 32.6% of women physicians reported burnout compared to 22.5% of men. For the most stressful medical job in 2023, the highest percentages of burnout occurred in three physician specialties. They are:
- Urology: 45.8%.
- Emergency medicine: 42.8%.
- Pediatrics: 33.9%.
Meanwhile, 69.7% of physicians under 35 felt highly valued while 66.4% of doctors 35–44 years old said the same. For male physicians, 70% said they felt valued compared with 69.2% of women doctors. And for physician specialties, three were the most likely to say they felt valued. They were:
- Infectious diseases: 93.1%.
- Psychiatry: 81.4%.
- Oncology: 75%.
As the leader in physician well-being, the AMA is reducing physician burnout by removing administrative burdens and providing real-world solutions to help doctors rediscover the Joy in Medicine™.
Here are seven steps that Sutter Health took to improve well-being among physicians and other health professionals.
Address staffing shortages
During the COVID-19 public health emergency, adequate staffing was a top priority, especially in nursing. To address the staffing need, Sutter Health’s well-being committee advocated for improvements in post-pandemic staffing with the human resources team.
The committee also heard about the systems’ plans for improving staffing that year to keep communication open and honest. They also discussed how to improve employee morale surrounding post-pandemic staffing.
In 2023, Sutter Health onboarded 732 new physicians and other health professionals, followed by nearly 1,000 in 2024 to respond to this challenge.
Offer peer support to everyone
The committee focused on the well-being of physicians and other health professionals in a variety of areas, and among them was increased and more visible access to mental health resources. Beyond that, the committee created a systemwide “Peer Support for All” program that covers physicians, nurses and employees across Sutter Health. The program helped with training physicians, residents, nurses and employees to become peer supporters.
Additionally, the committee compiled and shared available mental health and well-being resources both in the Sutter Health system and outside of it. They also held a leader-training series, educating leaders on how to identify and support employees in need, and share available resources.
The committee also heard from a diversity, equity and inclusion leader about resource groups and diversity and inclusion efforts. And they encouraged physician leaders to learn about and implement flexible schedules in their teams where possible. Lastly, the committee held a narrative medicine class to help physicians and other health professionals reconnect more fully with meaning in medicine.
Make changes to food and cafeteria
Physicians and other health professionals also shared that they wanted more healthy choices, after-hours access to food, more vegetarian options and improved stocking of coffee and snacks. As a result, the committee spoke with hospital food services leaders to learn about local barriers, shared successful processes at facilities and brainstormed solutions. The committee also prompted local executive leaders to make changes where possible.
Enhance facilities, equipment and supplies
From comments about problems with computers, monitors and keyboards, and complaints about supplies and equipment not being in the correct location when needed, Sutter Health leaders devised two solutions. To start, the health system encouraged local sharing of how to escalate workstation issues. And then they invited a system leader to speak on process improvement techniques.
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Improve EHR use
Physicians reported that the health system’s EHR required too many clicks and were cumbersome. In response, Sutter Health’s Information Services team held presentations and created classes to share EHR tips and shortcuts with physicians.
In 2023, Sutter Health also heavily invested in systems and technologies that enhance both the patient and physician experience, streamlining appointment scheduling, referrals and billing. These automated features alone are expected to reduce EHR messages by nearly 300,000 cancellation requests and 140,000 appointment requests annually.
And in 2024, Sutter Health launched a collaboration with Abridge to implement and expand the use of its generative AI tool, streamlining clinical documentation and allowing physicians and other health professionals to spend more focused time with patients.
Prevent workplace violence
Physicians and other health professionals shared concerns about increases in workplace violence from patients and visitors. In turn, Sutter Health worked to provide updates on available data, resources and systemwide projects on workplace safety.
The system also posted signs throughout the hospitals that included behavioral expectations for patients and visitors. Meanwhile, a break-out session was held at the system Interdisciplinary Well-Being Committee meeting where concerns and ideas were shared with the system’s Department of Protective Services.
Recognition, gratitude and feeling valued
Based on comments about the need to feel valued and for leaders to show more gratitude, Sutter Health shared with leaders its best practices. Those best practices included several ways of celebrating successes and recognizing employees via a smartphone app, handwritten notes, callouts at huddles and meetings, and intown halls.
Download the 2024 AMA Joy in Medicine™ magazine (log into your AMA account to view) to see whether your organization is part of the prestigious group of 130 organizations across 35 states that are currently recognized for their dedication to physician well-being.
