A substantial percentage of hospitalists believe their workloads lead to unsafe practices.

Although much has been made of the association between resident physician workload and medical errors, little is known about the effects of attending physician workload on patient safety. Researchers surveyed 890 self-identified hospitalists about the effect of physician workload (defined as the number of patient encounters per shift) during daytime hours.

Among the 506 responders, 40% reported that their census reached unsafe levels at least once monthly, and one third of respondents reported a frequency of at least once weekly. More than 20% of hospitalists reported that increased workload led to unnecessary testing, delayed admission or discharge, and inability to discuss treatment options fully with patients and family members. About 20% of hospitalists also reported that their workload worsened quality of hand-offs and patient satisfaction. Physicians estimated that they could see 15 patients per shift safely, provided they had no other responsibilities.

CITATION(S):

Michtalik HJ et al. Impact of attending physician workload on patient care: A survey of hospitalists. JAMA Intern Med 2013 Jan 28; [e-pub ahead of print].