The percentage of healthcare workers experiencing burnout has grown to nearly 50%, which is a number that should warrant attention. From having to work long shifts to facing a variety of administrative requirements and challenges, it’s no wonder that staff often feel overwhelmed and consider leaving their current roles.

While burnout in the healthcare field has traditionally been more of an issue faced by physicians and nurses, it has been growing across all departments — including administrative and non-clinical roles. All healthcare workers have been experiencing increased pressures and feel overworked and overwhelmed on a daily basis.

Understanding the Causes of Burnout in Administrative Healthcare Roles

Burnout in healthcare roles is growing throughout various healthcare settings. As more staff experience the negative effects of being burnt out in their roles, it’s more important than ever to understand the sources of these feelings of exhaustion and dissatisfaction.

Some of the common causes of burnout in administrative healthcare roles include: 

• Heavy workloads: Within administrative healthcare roles, employees face increased pressure due to the sheer volume of tasks that need to be completed. Along with heavy workloads, the complexity of these tasks has been steadily increasing as well. From No Surprise Act tasks to requiring prior authorizations more frequently, it’s easy for administrative healthcare workers to become burnt out.
• Workforce shortages: There may be a shortage of qualified administrative healthcare workers, especially in rural communities. The responsibilities that a larger team should handle will fall on a much smaller group of individuals, leading to excessively demanding shifts. Luckily, there are solutions available that can take on the work of collecting patient payments so staff can focus on more complex tasks with payers.
• Employee turnover: Seeing others leave their roles and deal with high turnover can decrease morale and faith in the healthcare industry. Without having a stable team to work alongside, it’s easier to experience feelings of negativity and distrust in the workplace. It also makes it more difficult to form a solid support system.
• Outdated processes and technology: Dealing with old, slow and cumbersome processes can make any healthcare worker’s daily routine drag. From patient registration to insurance verification, not having efficient programs and solutions to integrate into daily workflow can be difficult. This frustration can be compounded by needing to provide quick customer service to patients but being unable to do so because of outdated processes.

What Are the Impacts of Burnout?

Burnout in healthcare professionals is a serious issue. It can cause numerous physical and mental symptoms that can impact individuals both personally and professionally. Some of the most common effects include:

• Reduced performance: Burnout can negatively impact the patient experience and overall patient satisfaction. When administrative staff don’t feel fulfilled, their motivation to set goals and excel in their role diminishes. They may feel as if their day-to-day work doesn’t matter, leading to a lower sense of drive and accomplishment. Reduced performance will have a significant impact on the healthcare organization’s reputation, finances and bottom line. 
• Staffing shortages: Due to the physical and emotional effects of burnout, healthcare professionals will likely begin to exhibit a decrease in productivity. Burnout can also lead to absenteeism as well as increased turnover due to staff feeling overwhelmed and unsatisfied in their current role. Staffing shortages will put increased strain on the rest of the team, which has to then step up and cover additional tasks and responsibilities.
• Administrative and medical errors: The more detached and cynical administrative staff feel about their role, the less careful and precise they’ll be when performing their duties. The consequences can be significant. From patient miscommunications to data entry errors and typos, administrative staff can’t risk being haphazard in their roles.
• Quality of patient care: The less invested and concerned a healthcare professional is with their job duties and role, the less likely they’ll deliver the level of care that patients are satisfied with and deserve. Feeling burnt out can impact how individuals interact with and serve patients. In some cases, burnout can lead to a low quality of patient care that directly impacts patient health.

Strategies for Preventing Burnout in Healthcare

Whether you’re dealing with burnout in an administrative or revenue cycle management role, it’s important to implement strategies to address and prevent burnout. Here are a few ideas to try to better support workers and help decrease the chances of them being low-performing, absent or wanting to leave their current roles:

1. Conduct ongoing assessments and reviews: From providing assessments to making anonymous surveys or feedback forms available to employees, there are several different ways you can learn more about your team and how they are feeling about their roles and responsibilities. These ongoing assessments and reviews can encourage a culture of support and understanding, allowing healthcare workers to more freely share their wants and needs.
2. Hold team meetings: Regularly meeting with and checking in with your team can provide valuable information and insights into their workflow, needs and career goals. The more closely you know your team and make yourself accessible to them, the easier it will be to notice signs of burnout and make changes that will support them and help them succeed in the workplace. 
3. Create development programs: Whether the programs cover topics like productivity or stress management, creating development opportunities can help healthcare employees feel empowered to take control of their emotions and workflow and come up with a strategy that works best for them. Making sure managers work closely with staff to oversee program progress can help teams form connections and achieve success together.
4. Integrate technology: Technology can help automate tasks and streamline the administrative process. Implementing it in the workplace can have many positive effects on workers experiencing burnout — in addition to other organizational benefits. Whether it’s by simplifying daily processes or finding ways to incorporate new technology into workflows, staff often have practical ideas for how outsourcing solutions can directly impact their day-to-day tasks and responsibilities. When staff are inspired to pitch these solutions to decision-makers, processes can change for the better. By automating repetitive tasks like billing or sorting through electronic health records, healthcare workers can focus on providing high-quality, personalized patient care.
5. Develop recognition programs: Sometimes, something as simple as a recognition program can significantly impact motivation and morale in the workplace. When healthcare workers feel as if they are working toward something tangible or meaningful, it gives their routine tasks a sense of purpose.

Choose Millennia as Your Administrative Solution

If your organization is experiencing burnout in healthcare workers or working on preventing burnout across your team, Millennia can provide you with the comprehensive solution you need to reduce administrative tasks — while enhancing patient experience and satisfaction. Request a consultation today to learn more about how we can increase patient satisfaction through digital engagement.

About The Author

Scott Sanner

Scott, the current CEO of Millennia, brings nearly 30 years of healthcare industry experience. Scott served as the CEO of Citra Health Solutions, held senior positions at McKesson and Change Healthcare, including oversight of Communication and Payment Services, and was Senior Vice President and General Manager of Accountable Care Services. Prior to that, Scott was the Senior Vice President and General Manager of Technology Services at MED3000 and McKesson. Scott began his career at Misys Healthcare.

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