Alain A. Chaoui, MD, MMS President
When I spoke last year at my inauguration in Boston, I made a light-hearted reference to the classic television show I Love Lucy, when I compared the famous conveyor belt in the chocolate factory scene to the practice of medicine. Although it did elicit some laughs, it also foreshadowed the year ahead for the Massachusetts Medical Society and for me.
The Medical Society is a sounding board — a community of peers — and we heard our members loud and clear when they discussed their growing concerns about physician burnout, a very real and very dangerous threat stemming largely from what I call “conveyor belt medicine.” I promised that we would do our level best to make a meaningful impact on diminishing the effects of burnout and the incredible leadership and staff at the Medical Society stood beside me to make it happen.
Tackling burnout has become a personal priority and I consider myself fortunate that the Medical Society and several like-minded stakeholders understood this critical mission and have worked doggedly in pursuit. The Medical Society has been a statewide and national leader on the issue, playing the role of advocate for our members and all physicians. We have convened meetings to discuss the issue with health systems leaders, health insurance organizations, the Department of Public Health, and the Board of Registration in Medicine.
Perhaps the biggest catalyst for action was the formation of a Task Force on Physician Burnout for which we enlisted the support of the Massachusetts Health and Hospital Association. The task force recruited the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the Harvard Global Health Institute to research physician burnout and its causes and to propose and promulgate directives to:
-
End the stigma associated with physicians
admitting they need help
- Provide appropriate levels of assistance for
physicians in need
- Minimize the “outside forces” that contribute to feelings of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and a diminished sense of personal accomplishment
The result of this collaboration and many months of proverbial blood, sweat, and tears came in January when the organizations published a paper, A Crisis in Health Care: A Call to Action on Physician Burnout (massmed.org/burnoutpaper), in which physician burnout was declared a public health crisis.
Those directives include the appointment of an executive-level chief wellness officer at every major health care organization, proactive mental health treatment and support for caregivers experiencing burnout, improvements to the efficiency of electronic health records, including true interoperability, and, most importantly, letting doctors be doctors and relieving them of unnecessary administrative burdens that interfere with patient-physician relationships and force physicians to sacrifice family and personal time. We knew the medical community would listen, and we were thrilled when the public — the patients for whom we care for every day — heard us loud and clear. Our burnout paper made an immediate splash, with front-page coverage in the Boston Globe and the resultant social media firestorm that galvanized supportive physicians and patients.
But the work is not done. Our push to lead and advocate on the issue of burnout will continue.
The honor and pleasure of being involved in something much bigger than myself and relentlessly advocating for my peers as part of a movement that supports all physicians and our noble calling — a movement that I believe only the Massachusetts Medical Society could have led — is something I will never forget. I offer my sincere thanks and appreciation to the Medical Society, our members, and the myriad partners who recognized the need to step up with a sense of urgency and take action in the face of a crisis that threatens patient care and those of us who dedicate our lives to healing. It is my sincere hope that we use this momentum and call to action to work together on protecting the sacred patient-physician relationship and restoring the joy of practicing medicine.
