In 2021, physicians reported record-breaking rates of burnout across all medical systems in the wake of the pandemic, surprising no one. Health systems were stretched to their limits, with 63% of physicians reporting symptoms of burnout for various reasons, some more obvious than others. 

Physicians felt overworked, undervalued, and undersupported. But a 2022 Medscape Survey of physician burnout revealed that physicians weren’t necessarily exhausted from the influx of patients themselves, but the paperwork that came with them. Physicians claimed that the bureaucratic and administrative work that flooded their workdays was the number one reason for their job dissatisfaction. Pile on staffing shortages and increased depression rates, and the alarm bells sounded on clinician care, with 40% of physicians claiming they intended to leave the profession altogether. 

Fast forward to July of 2024, when it was recently reported that burnout rates dropped down to 48.2% — the lowest they’d been in the past four years. The downward trend is undeniable good news, but the fact that still nearly half of all doctors are experiencing burnout is no cause for celebration. 

So, why did the rates drop? Distance from the tangled mess of pandemic dramas feels like an obvious factor, but could other changes happening in healthcare have contributed to the decrease?

As a vocal champion of the cause to end physician burnout, The American Medical Association claims they’ve helped rates drop by “removing administrative burdens and providing real-world solutions to help doctors rediscover the Joy in Medicine.” The AMA took those burnout survey results seriously and got to work on the number one reason physicians were feeling so burned out: too much paperwork. 

In the spirit of that same shared mission, Playback also continues to engage clinicians to understand what they need, and how to concretely help them meet those needs. 

Below a few clinicians share how Playback helps them take back their days and practices as busy physicians:

Neurosurgeon Dr. Randy D’amico doesn’t worry about paperwork anymore:

“The part of Playback that has changed how I practice is the ambient notes feature which now allows me to be more efficient, which means that I can move quicker to different patients and don’t have to worry so much about my paperwork. I’m able to generate notes — whether it’s from listening to my conversation with the patient, or me sitting down and using the Notes feature to generate a new separate note. Anything that increases my efficiency is going to increase workflow in the office and office efficiency, and all those things are going to make for a better patient experience.” 

Neurosurgeon Dr. Betsy Grunch gets to put her kids to bed: 

“I used to spend hours either before my kids went to bed or after my kids went to bed doing documentation, and now with this AI-powered platform that’s helped me generate my notes, it’s really given me so much time back and I only think it’s going to improve in the future. So I’m pretty excited about that.”

Therapist Dacia Fusaro, LCSW, customized her Playback templates to meet her needs:

“Playback Health has been such a game-changer for me. It records my sessions with clients, and I worked in collaboration with an engineer at Playback to create a note template that really fits the population of clients I work with. At the end of a session, I have this beautiful [automated] note that I can go back in and edit, but it provides me with a very succinct, eloquently written note that I have to be able to work from.”  

Orthopedic Surgeon Dr. Sanjeev Suratwala sees more patients in a day without sacrificing care:

“I’ve leaned heavily on the scribe feature and it’s helped me tremendously because now I can see more patients in a day. I feel a better connection to patients when I’m having a conversation with them and not having to worry about the notes and typing. At the end of the day, I can leave at a reasonable time when I’m not sitting for two hours after work trying to write notes because it’s all in the system already.”

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